Or Perhaps in Slytherin
by hmweasley
Summary: Scorpius and Albus are both nervous to start their first year at Hogwarts. For Scorpius, it is a chance to make friends for the first time. For Albus, coming to Hogwarts means facing head on the feeling that he's never quite fit in amongst his family.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I want to give a huge thank you to TheMortalMan and Pendragon2601 for beta reading.**

 **I have two important things I want to say before this fic: The first is that it isn't going to follow Cursed Child canon. I have very mixed feelings about Cursed Child, loving certain aspects of it and hating others. I've taken some parts of it and not others, so what happens in this story won't necessarily line up. That being said, this story will only take place during their first year, so you won't see the discrepancies all that much yet. They'll come later.**

 **The last thing I want to say is that I'm writing Scorpius as having Asperger's in this story. If you notice anything wrong with my portrayal (and I'm very nervous that there's something wrong), people let me know so that I can work on trying to fix it.**

"Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends"

– J.K. Rowling, _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_

The train's whistle sounded, sending a wave of shock through Scorpius' system.

Why was it so loud? Did they think anyone was going to forget that it was there?

He didn't want to be on Platform 9 and 3/4. There were more people mulling about than he had ever seen in one place, and it felt like they were pushing in on him even as they gave the Malfoy family wide berth. Even his owl kept flapping her wings in her cage, unused to the commotion. Scorpius kept his facial features carefully controlled, hoping to appear as confident as his father did, though he knew he was failing.

For years, Scorpius had dreamed about the day he'd get to go to Hogwarts. Each dream had a common theme: Scorpius would come into his own at Hogwarts. For once, he'd be confident, and with that confidence, he would be able to attract friends to himself. He'd no longer feel alone or isolated. He'd have somewhere to belong. It had happened for others.

Now that the day had arrived, Scorpius felt scared. There was no way the real Hogwarts was going to live up to his dream Hogwarts. He'd heard amazing thing after amazing thing from some, but Scorpius wasn't naive enough to believe that would be his experience. The Malfoys didn't have the same past of perfect, lifelong friendships being formed at the school. His father hadn't spoken to Gregory Goyle since the Battle of Hogwarts.

It was hard to stay someone's friend—if Draco could have _stayed_ anything with Goyle—when you testified against them in front of the Wizengamot. Goyle had been out of Azkaban for several years, and the one time Scorpius has seen him in person had been during a trip to Diagon Alley, where his father had steered him away as Goyle glared as if he'd happily have murdered them on the spot.

That had been his father's Hogwarts experience in a nutshell. It was the legacy Scorpius had to deal with. He wasn't confident enough to get minions like this father, let alone real friends.

His parents knew it too. Scorpius could see it on their faces as they went through the motions of a happy send off to Hogwarts.

"Try to talk to someone on the train," Draco urged his son, his brow furrowing in worry.

Even though he knew his father said such things out of love—he, too, wanted Scorpius to make friends and be happy—the words still sent a shiver of fear down Scorpius' spine. As if his own disappointment at being unable to make friends wasn't enough, he'd have to face his father's disappointment as well when he came home for Christmas holidays without a friend to speak of.

"I've given you plenty of treats," Astoria said, drawing Scorpius' attention away from his father.

The large smile on her face made her better at hiding her fears than Draco was, but Scorpius could still see the worry in her eyes. She continued to stuff more snacks into Scorpius' robes than ever should have fit. Scorpius thought she might have put enlarging charms on the pockets the last time they'd been washed.

"Mum, I can't eat all of this," Scorpius protested. "There's enough here for the entire train."

Astoria froze for a millisecond, and Scorpius got it, despite the way she continued filling his pockets without commenting or looking at him.

"I thought that maybe you'd like to share," she admitted, though she kept her tone light. "Not with the whole train, but maybe with the rest of your compartment."

"Just with myself then," Scorpius muttered under his breath. It was low enough that his father didn't hear the comment, but his mother did. She shot him a reproachful look.

"I'll share them with my compartment," Scorpius promised, trying to smile for her. "I'm sure homemade pumpkin pasties will be a great conversation starter."

Astoria rolled her eyes, but this time there was amusement in her features.

"Food can often bring people together," Astoria said, "and I take great pride in that pumpkin pasty recipe."

With good reason, his mother's pumpkin pasties were the best Scorpius had ever had.

"The Trolley Witch will sue if anyone else gets ahold of yours, Mum. She may even go out of business."

Astoria preened, previous fears momentarily forgotten.

"I'm not sure about that," she replied modestly. "I'll never make chocolate frogs quite as great as the original."

She'd tried though. It had been quite a shock when for the first time, at three years old, Scorpius had entered the kitchen to find chocolate frogs jumping everywhere, his mother unable to control them.

The train whistled again, causing Astoria and Draco to glance at the clock that towered over the station. 10:59.

The look of anxiety on Astoria's face had returned. Draco's had never left.

His mother leaned in to drop a kiss to the top of his head, a feat that had become difficult over the previous months. Scorpius realized with a jolt that he might be too tall for such a gesture once he saw her again, and his stomach twisted into more knots.

He thought he might cry, and he took a deep, shaky breath to will the tears away. His parents had been the closest thing he'd had to friends for his entire life. He hadn't realized how true that was until he wasn't going to see them again for months.

"Off you go then," Astoria urged.

Scorpius knew her well enough to detect the tears that were pricking at her eyes, but she hid it well, making sure her posture didn't falter.

Scorpius kissed his mother and hugged his father goodbye before boarding the train and finding an empty compartment for himself.

He'd been alone for several minutes when there was commotion in the corridor, and Scorpius' head shot up to watch a boy and a girl arguing outside his compartment door. Their eyes kept flickering into the compartment and towards Scorpius for split seconds at a time as if Scorpius wouldn't notice the looks. He glanced away, able to imagine what sorts of things the girl was saying about him. Her look said it all.

For a few moments, the conflict continued, and Scorpius stared at the empty seat across from him. He could feel heat in his cheeks, but he refused to glance back at the pair.

He froze when he heard the door slide open, finally glancing over and into the eyes of Albus Severus Potter.

Scorpius struggled to remain calm as Albus smiled at him. His mind was working on overdrive as he tried to figure out what Albus' seemingly kind expression meant.

Potters and Malfoys weren't friends. If they ever had been, it had been centuries ago. Scorpius knew they were related somehow, but they were as distant as two pureblooded families could be, evidenced by the fact that the Potters were no longer a pureblood family.

Scorpius had wanted a friend, any friend, but a Potter was the last sort of person he'd expected to willingly enter his presence. Followed closely by a Weasley at that. Rose's glare had Scorpius cowering in his seat despite having claimed this particular compartment first.

He would have given the compartment to her and left if it meant she wouldn't look at him with such anger.

"Hi," Albus said, ignoring his cousin's anger and smiling at Scorpius as if were anyone but a Malfoy. "I'm Albus Potter."

"I know," Scorpius responded, cringing a moment later when he realized how strange that sounded. He didn't like when people had preconceived notions of him, and sure enough, Albus frowned at the words, looking displeased.

"Scorpius Malfoy," Scorpius continued, trying to remember the etiquette he'd been taught. Despite his extensive schooling on the topic, he'd always been terrible at implementing it.

Albus smiled again once Scorpius had announced his name, which squashed Scorpius' prediction that Albus hadn't known who he was. Somehow, he still looked friendly, and there was no way a Potter had grown up with no idea of who the Malfoys were or what they had done.

"This is my cousin Rose," Albus said when it became clear that Rose, who was standing behind Albus with crossed arms and a scowl, wasn't going to speak for herself. "Rose Granger-Weasley."

"If I wanted to be introduced, I'd do it myself," Rose snapped.

The smile fell from Albus' face for a moment before he was able to rearrange his features into something neutral. This expression was more reserved than the one before. Scorpius had been waiting for this.

"Rose," Albus muttered in a pleading voice. No doubt Rose typically wasn't this impolite. It was a hatred she reserved for Malfoys and other Old Families who had once pledged their allegiance to Voldemort.

"It's okay," Scorpius said. "I don't expect either of you to like me. I get it. Really, I do. I'm a Malfoy; my family were Death Eaters. Your family were heroes. You two really shouldn't talk to me."

Something about Scorpius' words had affected Albus. He watched the other boy with a look of sympathy, one that Scorpius wasn't sure whether he was thankful for or not.

"Who said I didn't want to be friends?" Albus said, a new resolve in his voice. He plopped himself down on the seat across from Scorpius, his smile brighter than it had been before, and somehow, Scorpius couldn't detect a lie.

Rose scoffed at her cousin, still disgusted to be in Scorpius' presence, but Scorpius had been presented with an opportunity that he had never expected to have. He wasn't going to waste it.

"I have snacks," Scorpius announced out of nowhere, suddenly remembering the sheer amount of food that had been stuffed into his robes. He'd needed something to break the silence, even if it wasn't what he would have said had he had more time to prepare for this moment. "Do you want a pumpkin pasty? My mum made them. They're better than the pre-packaged ones."

Albus was still smiling at him, and he wasn't laughing at Scorpius, who in his nervousness struggled to get his hand in his pocket to grab some pumpkin pasties.

"I'd love one," Albus said, reaching out to take one of the pastries from Scorpius' shaking hand.

He bit into it with a fervor that suggested that he had been hungry. Scorpius watched him eagerly. For some reason, a rejection of his mum's baking would feel almost as bad as a rejection of himself.

"This is so good," Albus assured Scorpius. "You were right about it being better than the packaged ones. Thanks."

"No problem," Scorpius said, straightening his posture without realizing it. He felt as proud as if he'd done the baking himself.

Then he remembered Rose and glanced over in her direction. The amount of approval he'd gotten from Albus was enough that Scorpius no longer cowered under her gaze.

"Would you like one?" he offered, knowing full well that his mum's baking was his best chance at winning her over.

Rose watched Albus eating his, and Scorpius could see the conflict in her eyes. It was the first time she hadn't seemed hostile since entering the compartment, and that filled Scorpius with hope. She looked back at him, and Scorpius could detect her gathering her resolve to turn him down.

"You really should eat one, Rose," Albus said. He was watching her as closely as Scorpius was, waiting to see what action she would take. "Pumpkin pasties are your favourite, and these are the best."

Were they really Rose's favorite? Had Scorpius had that much luck?

Scorpius watched as her resolve melted away and she took a step forward to take a pasty, never quite looking Scorpius in the eyes. She sat down, something Scorpius had been sure wouldn't happen, though she chose to take a seat on the same side as Albus and as close to the door as she could manage. She couldn't have been farther away from Scorpius without leaving the compartment, but he would take it.

He watched her as she ate it, noticing the telltale hints that she was enjoying it but wouldn't admit so aloud. Scorpius was going to have to thank his mother. If this turned out well, she'd send him a hundred more pasties in the post.

A silence fell amongst them, and Scorpius wasn't sure how to break it. Silences were common in his family, and they often let them be. Based on everything he knew about the Potter and Weasley families, however, Scorpius was willing to bet that wasn't the case for Albus and Rose. One of the few things Scorpius' father had ever told Scorpius about the Weasleys was that they were a "boisterous group". Albus and Rose had to be used to a steady stream of conversation, and Scorpius wasn't used to such things.

He looked between Albus and Rose, waiting for either of them to say something, but neither did. Rose looked obstinate in her silence, whereas Albus didn't seem to know what to say. The latter gave Scorpius enough confidence to ask the one question he could think of.

"What do you like to do for fun?"

He was sure that was something one of his parents had told him to ask at some point in the informal 'how to make friends' lessons they often gave him despite having so few friends of their own. It seemed cliche to ask, but it was all Scorpius could come up with. Unless he wanted to ask why Albus was bothering to give him a chance.

Albus shrugged in that way people often did when they realized that they didn't know how to answer that kind of question. Albus had to do something with his time, but when put on the spot, he couldn't think of what that was.

"I like to play wizard's chess. Sometimes I read." Albus sounded unsure of himself even though Scorpius was smiling widely as he answered. "What about you?"

"I like to read too," Scorpius said, sounding more confident in that admittance than he often did after hearing Albus choose it too. "And I quite like animals. I brought my owl with me," he pointed at the cage on the rack above them where she'd fallen asleep with her head tucked under her wing, "but I had to leave my horse behind at Malfoy Manor. I'll miss her."

Belatedly, Scorpius realized that mentioning his family's home by name wasn't the best idea. It was perhaps better to not mention his family's name at all.

Rose had finally turned to look at him again at the mention of the house, and her gaze was judgmental. Scorpius didn't really understand. It wasn't like he'd had a say in where he lived or what family he'd been born into.

"You own a horse?" Rose asked in something like disgust.

Scorpius felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, feeling how close Rose was to insulting a creature he loved. Horses were far more intelligent than many were willing to give them credit for.

Not one to argue, he didn't say any of that to Rose. He watched her carefully, waiting for her to insult him or his horse once again.

She didn't, whether it was because no insults came to mind or because she had decided it wasn't worth her time.

In an unusual burst of confidence, Scorpius asked, "What about you Rose? What do you like to do?"

The question was worth a shot, since Scorpius couldn't make her hate him more than she already did unless he began to live up to her worst expectations of Malfoys. She cringed when he said her name, which felt insulting in a way that little else she had done had, yet Scorpius ignored it, looking at her expectantly as if it were a given she'd answer.

Rose didn't look like she was going to answer at first, but Albus nudged her in the side, causing her to give in.

"I like Quidditch," she said, closing her mouth to signal that that was the extent of her input.

Scorpius ran with it. "Unsurprising what with your family. Your aunt was one of the best Quidditch players of her generation, if not further back than that. She's the reason the Holyhead Harpies have been my favourite team since I was three. She's brilliant."

Albus and Rose both looked shocked at Scorpius' praise of Ginny Potter. Scorpius felt his face heat up once again as he realized how strange it would feel to hear someone go on like that, especially when Albus was hearing it about his own mother.

"Not that I keep up with Quidditch that much, mind," Scorpius continued, feeling the need to attempt to make it better. "I've just been to a few matches here or there, and I check the _Prophet_ 's Quidditch pages every so often. That's it really."

Albus' look of shock turned into a grin. "You brought up my mum before you did my dad," he said in amusement. "Most people don't do that."

"Really?" Scorpius asked even though he wasn't surprised. "It seems like plenty of people would talk about your mum."

Albus shrugged. "Well, yeah, they do, but it typically comes after they go on and on about the great Harry Potter." His eyes narrowed as he spoke, and he averted his gaze to the floor.

Scorpius offered what he hoped was a sympathetic smile once Albus glanced at him again. He did, after all, know what it was like to be reminded of a legacy, even if their legacies were as different as any two legacies could be. Truthfully, Scorpius would give anything to have the legacy to live up to that Albus had, but he could sense that it wouldn't be wise to say such things.

"Shame," he said instead, "when your mum's such an ace Quidditch player."

Albus smiled at him again. By now, Albus had smiled at him more than anyone other than his mum ever had. Scorpius wasn't quite sure what that meant. He'd never had adequate experience figuring out where politeness ended and friendship began.

Scorpius hoped that what they had was the beginnings of a friendship though, and he became more and more certain that it was as the train ride went on. He even managed to make Albus laugh, a feat he'd never managed with anyone other than his mum before.

Rose watched them talk and laugh with curiosity and increasing incredulity, never saying a word herself. At times, Scorpius almost forgot that she was there, too focused on whatever it was that Albus was telling him at the time.

Then, Rose finally spoke.

"You're strange for a Malfoy," she stated bluntly.

The smile fell from Scorpius' face.

"I am," he agreed. "Dad says I take after the Greengrasses more than the Malfoys. Told me that was probably a good thing before Mum shushed him and wouldn't let him say anything else."

Rose snorted. "Your dad might have been right about one thing at least."

Scorpius watched her, trying to decide if this observation of hers meant that she was warming up to him. She was certainly watching him with a different sort of look in the eye, but Scorpius should have already known that Rose Granger-Weasley wasn't an easy shell to crack.

The train began to noticeably slow down, and for the first time, Rose neared Scorpius as she moved to look out the window. It was dark, with little to be seen, yet Rose seemed to have seen something.

"We're almost there," she said. "We should change into our Hogwarts robes if we don't want to be late."

She reached for her trunk, which she'd never stored up on the shelf, and began pulling what she needed from its contents. Scorpius and Albus both mimicked her, but by the time Scorpius had carefully lowered his trunk and gotten out his robes, Rose had disappeared down the corridor to change, leaving Scorpius and Albus alone for the first time.

He glanced over at Albus, seeing him tugging his shirt over his head. Scorpius turned around and began doing the same, though he was unable to suppress his nervousness at having to undress in front of someone.

"Please don't be too bothered by Rose."

Scorpius twirled around, Hogwarts robes askew, so that he could look at the other boy. Albus was already dressed, possibly because he hadn't had nerves that were causing him to fumble.

He looked at Scorpius as if pleading with him to listen and believe him, which was something new.

"She's not that bad," Albus said. "She's just–Well, Uncle Ron has always had a particularly strong dislike for your dad, and he's told Rose all of these things that your dad did." Scorpius bowed his head to stare at the floor, more than aware of which of Draco's actions Rose had been informed of. "And I think she's having a hard time separating you from your dad's past."

Scorpius nodded. "I understand," he said. "Plenty of people have a hard time with that." He just wished they didn't.

Albus's face looked sympathetic once again.

"It's pretty terrible of her, to be honest," Albus said. "She did grow up with me, and she's seen how people treat me because I'm Harry Potter's son. Even Rose gets reminded about her parents by strangers all the time. She should know not to judge someone because of their parents."

Scorpius thought she should too, but instead of saying so, he said, "It's different when you're a Malfoy. People want the two of you to be as great as your parents. I'm from a family with a long history of the Dark Arts and Muggle-hating."

Albus hesitated before he spoke. "My dad was talking to my mum the other day during dinner, and he said that he was impressed with your father. He said that, of all the former Death Eaters, Draco Malfoy was the one he was least worried about causing problems in the future."

Scorpius sat back down, trying to imagine Harry Potter saying anything about his father that could be construed as a compliment. He didn't personally know Harry Potter, but he had learned plenty about him. His father almost always refused to speak of the man, but his existence permeated too much of the wizarding world for Scorpius not to know what things were said by others. Harry Potter was supposed to be a champion for those who were good but not seen as such by society. Had Scorpius' father become one of those people? It seemed unlikely, yet it was difficult to view Albus' words as not having significance.

Albus was looking at him expectantly. Scorpius focused instead on straightening his robes, only looking back at Albus when it was clear that his robes were as straight as they would ever be.

"He would never be a problem," Scorpius allowed. "None of my family would because what matters above all else is appearances. Causing problems would mean being sent to Azkaban."

Albus' smile changed, but it wasn't angry. It was more like he was amused at Scorpius' attempts to suggest his family weren't as great as Albus was trying to suggest they might be. Rose sliding open the compartment door interrupted them.

Something out in the corridor must have put her in a better mood, as she didn't have the same frown on her lips that she'd had for the rest of the trip. She was actually smiling, albeit not a large one, and it didn't falter as she entered and took in the sight of both of the boys in their robes. Scorpius knew that the smile wasn't for him, but it was still warmer than she'd been since meeting him.

She looked proud in her robes, having been waiting to wear them for years. Scorpius had been too, but he didn't feel as confident in his. He felt almost inadequate in them, and he had a feeling that inadequacy would increase once he had a House's colours emblazoned on them.

"Make sure you're prepared, Al," Rose urged, gathering up her trunk as if they were getting off the train right that moment.

Albus responded to the comment, locking up his trunk, and Scorpius followed his lead. He felt nervous again, unsure of what was to come once they were off the train. Albus Potter had agreed to sit with him on the Hogwarts Express and had even been kind to him, but that wouldn't necessarily mean anything once they were actually at Hogwarts.

The knots in his stomach increased as the train came to a complete stop. Rose was out of their compartment in a flash in what seemed more like eagerness to get to Hogwarts than eagerness to escape from Scorpius. Albus followed her at a much more reasonable pace, and Scorpius trailed behind far enough that it wasn't quite clear if he was with Albus or not.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks once again to Pendragon2601 and TheMortalMan for beta reading.**

Chapter 2

The Hogsmeade platform wasn't as crowded as Platform 9 and ¾ had been, but there were still students everywhere. Scorpius felt the anxiety that came from the people pressing in around him and focused on following closely behind Albus instead of looking around. The voice calling for first years sounded like it was coming from the other end of the station, and Albus looked towards it eagerly before glancing back at Scorpius several feet behind him.

"Come on," Albus urged, not noticing that Scorpius was putting so much distance between them on purpose. "We need to go find Hagrid. He'll take us to the school."

Scorpius had already known that much, having been informed of every detail of the coming evening from his parents. Hagrid came into view long before they reached him, and Scorpius felt his stomach tighten. He'd been told what to expect, but none of that was the same as coming face-to-face with a half giant.

Albus didn't have that problem, pushing through the crowd of first years that had formed to get closer to Hagrid. Scorpius followed out of a sense of duty. It wasn't so much that he was scared of Hagrid as it was the knowledge that Hagrid noticing him was sure to make the countless other students notice him as well. It was never good when large groups focused their attention on Scorpius. It usually meant they were sneering.

"Hi, Hagrid," Albus called.

Hagrid's gaze had already zeroed in on the newest Potter to join Hogwarts' ranks, and he beamed down at the boy in obvious excitement. He had yet to notice who was trailing behind Albus.

"Al," Hagrid said. "Rose was tellin' me 'bout yer new friend."

Scorpius froze as Hagrid's eyes glanced over to him.

"I told you I wasn't kidding," Rose said from beside Hagrid. Scorpius nearly jumped, not having noticed her there, half hidden behind Hagrid. "He really had us sitting with a Malfoy the whole train ride."

Hagrid glanced back at Rose with something that might have been disapproval in his eyes, and Scorpius wasn't sure if it was disapproval of Rose's words or Albus' actions. Rose seemed to think it might be for her, shifting nervously on her feet and looking cowed. She didn't complain to Hagrid anymore.

"Yeah, we sat with Scorpius," Albus said, trying his best to ignore the negative implications of his cousin's remark. "And it was a great time too. Wasn't it, Scorpius?"

Scorpius' eyes widened at the invitation to speak. He glanced up at Hagrid, having to tilt his head back, and saw that the man was waiting to hear what he had to say. Scorpius couldn't shake the feeling that this was a test in Hagrid's eyes, even if that hadn't been what Albus had in mind.

"Yeah, it was amazing," Scorpius muttered in something that was close to a whisper. He doubted the people around him would understand what Albus sitting down in his compartment had meant.

Hagrid offered him a half smile that allowed the tension in Scorpius' body to loosen. At least Hagrid wasn't glaring at him in hatred. That had been more along the lines of how Scorpius had imagined the boat ride to Hogwarts going, but Hagrid did nothing of the sort as his attention turned to the gathered children that surrounded them.

"Righ' then," he said. "Let's go."

Without another word, he began herding the first years towards the lake. They came easily, unable to lose sight of the half-giant and eager to reach the school that had been in their dreams.

When they reached the boats, Scorpius hardly hesitated over getting in with Albus and Rose, though Rose was determined to ignore his presence. While somehow creating a hesitant friendship with Albus had made this the day of Scorpius' dreams, he was sure that he was ruining Rose's own expectations for today. He felt terrible knowing such things, but he wasn't sure what to do about it when Albus was so adamant that he come with them.

Albus' facial expression changed dramatically as the boats began to move across the water. While he'd been calm and happy before, he began to look increasingly nervous and possibly nauseous.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked, not sure if he was overstepping his bounds with the question.

Albus turned his head and made a half-hearted attempt at a smile that wasn't very convincing.

"I'm fine," he said. "Just the usual nerves, you know?"

Scorpius nodded. He'd been terrified all day, so of course he knew. What he didn't understand was where Albus' nerves were coming from. Scorpius was an outcast who had held little hope of making friends. Of course he was nervous. Albus was Albus Potter, son of Harry Potter with a large family who would support him whether or not he could make friends. What did he have to be nervous about?

Not that Scorpius asked that question aloud, sensing that such a thing would be insensitive. He knew very little about Albus, and Scorpius knew that fears such as these often made little sense when compared to reality.

But Albus glanced back at him again, and there was something in his expression that made Scorpius more curious. He gave Albus a questioning look, expecting nothing more than a shrug in response. Instead, Albus hesitated before carefully turning around in the boat so that they could speak to each other easily.

"Which House do you think you'll be in?" Albus asked.

Scorpius was thrown off by the question, though he shouldn't have been. Historically, their families were sorted into enemy houses. That fact should have been hanging over their budding friendship, but it hadn't occurred to Scorpius until that moment. Maybe that had something to do with the sudden change in Albus. He'd realized that their friendship was doomed to fail before the day was over.

"I don't know," Scorpius said, once again finding himself unable to disguise his uncertainty. "There hasn't been a Malfoy for a century or more who was sorted into any House but Slytherin. There was one Greengrass who was a Ravenclaw, but no one ever wanted to talk about that. Doesn't exactly fill me with confidence about what would happen if I was sorted somewhere other than Slytherin."

"But do you think you _will_ be a Slytherin?" Albus asked, and Scorpius sensed that the nervousness in Albus' voice in that moment wasn't on Scorpius' behalf.

Scorpius could only shrug in response.

"I really don't know," he said. "Every time I think about it, I end up circling through the different Houses and never thinking I'm a perfect fit for any of them."

Albus nodded. "I guess you're never going to fit perfectly anywhere, but you still must think you're more likely to end up in one than another."

Scorpius smirked self-deprecatingly. "I'm not brave enough to be a Gryffindor, which is for the best. Merlin knows the other Gryffindors wouldn't be happy that I was there."

Albus didn't try to argue and even nodded, though he seemed to have become more lost in his own thoughts. Ones that were causing him to chew on his bottom lip as he stared out over the water.

"I can't see myself in Gryffindor either," Albus admitted, not looking Scorpius in the eyes. Rose turned around from her position at the front of the boat long enough to roll her eyes. Clearly, Albus' feelings on this subject weren't news to her, and she'd had enough of trying to convince him that he was wrong.

"I think I could be happy in there," Albus continued. "But I don't believe it will happen. I definitely wouldn't fit into Ravenclaw. And I know Hufflepuff is supposed to be the accepting house, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm not accepting enough to be in Hufflepuff."

After his experiences with Albus, Scorpius wasn't as sure of that, but he thought better than to argue with Albus about what he was or wasn't like.

"So that leaves…" Scorpius was kind of amazed that he was hearing Albus Potter say these things.

"Slytherin, yeah," Albus said. "I think I might wind up in Slytherin."

It was quiet for a moment. Rose was no longer facing them, but Scorpius could see her shaking her head in disagreement. She couldn't be bothered to argue. Scorpius didn't know what to say. He'd never in a million years pictured a Potter going into Slytherin. He could only imagine the conflict going on in Albus' own mind.

Eventually, Scorpius worked up the courage to ask, "How would you feel about being a Slytherin? Like, if it didn't matter what your family thought."

Albus shrugged, glancing over at Scorpius.

"I think it would depend on if I managed to make friends. Would anyone in Slytherin want to be friends with a Potter?"

Scorpius didn't have a good answer other than, "They might."

Albus sensed that Scorpius was trying, and he offered a kind smile in return.

Before either of them could say anything more, Hogwarts castle came into sight, lights from many of the windows causing it to glow in the night. A hushed silence came over the first years, with the only sounds being gasps of astonishment as they took in the countless spires that loomed high into the sky. Scorpius tore his eyes away from the castle long enough to glance at Hagrid sitting in his own boat. The man looked incredibly pleased to be witnessing their initial reactions. He noticed Scorpius watching him and a new twinkle appeared in his eye.

"Remember me firs' time seein' the place," he said, startling some of the students in the boats closest to him with his booming voice. "Couldn' believe it. Always like seein' others see it too."

Scorpius' smile widened at the warm tone that Hagrid spoke to him in, but he couldn't keep his focus on the man for long, feeling a desperate need to soak in the sight of the castle for as long as he could.

Hagrid was right that the first time seeing the castle held a magical quality that was like nothing Scorpius had experienced before. He had heard so much about what went on in this place, but he hadn't been prepared for the sight of the building overcoming him to the extent that it had.

Their boats kept moving forward until they had to tilt their heads back to take in the full extent of the castle. Then they were scrambling out of them, struggling not to fall into the lake that looked dark and scary. Scorpius remembered mentions of merpeople and was particularly careful, not wanting to become acquainted.

Somehow, the castle didn't lose its impressive nature once they were inside. Scorpius thought he might have been more overwhelmed by the interior than when he was taking in the sheer size of the place. Everyone continued to glance this way and that, tilting their heads up to see the high ceilings and almost tripping in the process.

Hagrid deposited them in front of Neville Longbottom, who smiled as he catalogued each of their faces. Just like he had with Hagrid, Albus scrambled through the group of first years to get closer. Rose was on his tail, and Scorpius reluctantly followed after.

While Draco never liked to talk about his Hogwarts years, Scorpius had a vague idea of what had transpired between his father and Gryffindors such as Professor Longbottom. He didn't have much hope that the professor would look upon him favourably, but Albus wasn't thinking about such things as he scrambled to get closer to his family friend.

"Neville," Albus exclaimed.

Neville tried to hold back a grin and keep his face stern as he looked down at Albus.

"We're at Hogwarts, Mr Potter, and you will address me as Professor Longbottom."

"Right," Albus replied, glancing around to see if any of the surrounding students had noticed his shame. A few girls standing nearby giggled into their hands, but Scorpius gave his friend a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry, Professor Longbottom."

Professor Longbottom gave Albus a short nod before turning his attention to the entire crowd of students. His eyes scanned the group, and Scorpius couldn't help but imagine that he was already filing away information. What had his years of teaching allowed him to know with just a glance?

When his eyes found Scorpius, they narrowed and lingered a bit longer than they had on the other students. Scorpius tried to ignore it, letting his eyes rove over the walls of the room surrounding them. Professor Longbottom looked away without finding anything to cause him to put his guard up with the youngest Malfoy, but Scorpius knew that Professor Longbottom would be cautious of him at least in the beginning. Most, if not all, of the professors would be.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor Longbottom announced. "In a few moments, you will enter the Great Hall and be sorted into your Houses. No doubt you've already heard stories about all four of them: Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and, my former home, Gryffindor. All worthy Houses," Scorpius wondered if he believed that or was saying it because he had to, "but only one can be your home for the next seven years. Trust that you will be placed where you belong, but don't neglect friendships with the other houses. Remember, we all have a piece of each House inside of us."

Scorpius remembered rants his father had gone on over the years about how Hogwarts had changed since the war. The change that had always seemed to anger him the most was what he typically referred to as the "love everyone when it's convenient" angle that the professors had taken when it came to inter-House friendships.

Draco had ranted about it so often that Scorpius felt like he knew it well. In the immediate aftermath of the war, many had felt that the Houses needed better relations with each other. Gryffindor and Slytherin, in particular, needed to be less antagonistic if there was ever to be any hope of continued peace in the wizarding world of Britain. Queue new language being used to talk about inter-House unity and an emphasis on it at any opportunity. Draco thought it was all crap that would never be followed through with when it became important. Scorpius hoped there was a grain of truth to the words.

Professor Longbottom's face revealed little about what he thought of the situation. The doors behind him chose that moment to swing open, and he glanced behind himself before saying, "Follow me," and leading the new students into the Great Hall.

Scorpius and Albus both marvelled at the sight. While both had heard stories, nothing could compare to seeing the real thing. Rose was trying to act less affected by the sight, but there was a twinkle of wonder in her eyes as she stared up at the enchanted ceiling that showed a clear night's sky.

They were really at Hogwarts. Finally, it felt real. Their dreams couldn't have compared to the actual experience. While all three of them had been raised in the wizarding world, none of them had ever felt so fully enveloped in magic. It was palpable in the air, almost like you could reach out and touch it if you desired.

It felt like Diagon Alley or the Ministry of Magic, yet it was stronger, something that felt even older and more comforting. It was a quality that came from the source of much of this magic: the students. This was a home for many children, past and present, and the magic of the place reflected that.

Rose soaked it in, revelling in it. Albus and Scorpius glanced at each other, their nerves returning as they watched Professor Longbottom place the Sorting Hat on top of its stool. Hogwarts would only be a home if they found a place where they belonged. Despite the warm first impression they had both felt, things weren't guaranteed to stay that way.

The sorting ceremony began, and both boys felt their stomachs sink lower and lower as they waited. Half of their class was sorted, and they went evenly among the four Houses. Many smiled upon hearing the name of their new home. Few, if any, appeared worried that they'd been placed in the wrong House.

Rose's name was called early in the ceremony, and Albus couldn't summon up much emotion when the Hat called, "GRYFFINDOR." It was what he had expected.

Albus tried to trust that the Hat couldn't make wrong decisions. He remembered what his dad had told him on the platform about the hat giving him a choice. Harry Potter had taken that choice, choosing Gryffindor and finding his home, so would the Hat have been wrong if it had chosen Slytherin without interference? They would never know, but Albus didn't put as much faith in his decisions as Harry Potter apparently had in his.

Albus was startled out of his thoughts as, "Malfoy, Scorpius," was called. There were whispers throughout the Hall. Though Scorpius cringed, he was unsurprised that his name had culled such a reaction. There were a number of students enrolled at Hogwarts who had Death Eater relatives, but few were as notorious as the Malfoys. Scorpius would easily bet that a handful of them had been able to forget about such connections, if their parents had informed them at all.

His hands shook as he lowered himself onto the stool. His eyes tilted upwards, straining to see the Hat as it was lowered onto his head.

"Ah, Scorpius Malfoy," the Hat's voice echoed in Scorpius' head. "I knew it was only a matter of time before another member of your family had me placed upon their head."

Scorpius couldn't bring himself to think much of anything. The fear was too strong, ringing in his ears loud enough that he could hardly hear the Hat despite it being inside his mind.

"You're different than many of those Malfoys before you," the Hat continued. "More like your Greengrass relatives. Your mother Astoria wasn't, at first, much pleased with my idea that she should be in Slytherin. She had the distinct impression that she wouldn't fit in. An impression, I see, that you also possess, but if I have learned one thing over the centuries, dear boy, it's that people always fit in wherever I place them. Children are far more adaptable than adults. It's the adults who continue to believe my job is valid in a way other methods of sorting wouldn't be.

"Yes, you'll be fine." Scorpius tried to process what the Hat was telling him, but before he could come up with a coherent thought, "SLYTHERIN," sounded throughout the Great Hall.

The Hat was tugged off his head as applause sounded from the Slytherin table. Scorpius offered the green-clad students a nervous but pleased smile as he clambered down the stairs, careful not to trip over his robes.

He settled in beside some of the other Slytherin first years, taking in the different expressions on their faces. Some around him appeared thrilled or unsurprised that their House had gotten the newest Malfoy. Others appeared hesitant, no doubt that was those who wished for Slytherin to lose the reputation of the past.

Scorpius' thoughts had been so concerned with his new house that hearing, "Potter, Albus," called by Professor Longbottom startled him. He watched as Albus approached the stool with as much hesitance as Scorpius had before him.

Albus closed his eyes as the Hat came over his head and concealed them. He knew that if he opened his eyes he would see nothing but darkness, but he continued to squeeze his eyelids as shut as possible.

"Another Potter," the Hat said wryly into his mind. "You're different from your brother, who demanded I put him in Gryffindor before I was fully on his head. I see your conflict, especially after talking to young Malfoy. My decision for him makes you feel like you might actually have a place in Slytherin, though you neglect to remember that the primary reason you approached him was because you craved such reassurance."

Albus tried to protest, but he couldn't summon up a defense that would work against something that could see his innermost thoughts. Albus hadn't realized that's what he was doing until that moment, and he felt his cheeks burn in shame.

"Yes, I think the decision is clear," the Hat continued, "SLYTHERIN."

The reaction throughout the Hall was nothing like it had been for Scorpius. This time, everyone began making noise at once. They talked amongst each other, trying to figure out if they had heard the Sorting Hat correctly.

Albus looked up at Neville as the Hat was pulled off his head. Neville offered Albus an encouraging smile, but Albus could see the worry in his eyes, the worry for Albus.

The noise only increased as Albus walked to the Slytherin table, keeping his head lowered. A Potter in Slytherin was more than many could process. In fact, it had been considered such a given that Albus Potter would be a Gryffindor that no one had bothered to speculate with their friends. Now they questioned each other over and over, "Did you expect that to happen?"

Albus ignored them, taking a seat next to Scorpius. His friend might have been the only person in the Great Hall who looked pleased with this outcome. Even the other Slytherins looked at him with wariness, not keen to trust a Potter in their own midst.

Albus tried to smile at Scorpius before he felt brave enough to look towards the Gryffindor table. He couldn't find James from so far away, but he managed to scan the length of the table, ignoring the eyes that looked back at him. He wouldn't know tonight, it seemed, what his brother thought about this development. Even in the heat of the moment, when Albus had felt panicked, he had known that James didn't expect his taunts to come true, yet here they were.

Professor Longbottom called the next student's name, and Albus decided to keep his eyes locked towards the front, away from the other students. Rose was looking directly at him when his eyes glazed past her, and Albus locked eyes with her, even from so far away.

She looked pained, almost sad. Even after Albus' nervous talk about possibly becoming a Slytherin and after choosing to sit with Scorpius, Rose hadn't expected this outcome, and she was the first to look at Albus with what could only be described as disappointment. Albus tore his eyes away from her, focusing instead on the girl who sat where he had minutes before.

He watched with rapt attention as the sorting concluded and Headmistress McGonagall welcomed them to another school year.

Suddenly, food appeared in front of them, and Scorpius began scooping it onto his plate. A large smile took up most of his face as he offered the plate of rolls to Albus, who took one without argument, though he was staring at Scorpius, perplexed at the sudden change in mood.

"You okay?" he asked, though Scorpius looked far from upset.

"I'm great," Scorpius said, sounding every bit like he was telling the truth. It was like a dark cloud that had been hovering had cleared, letting the sun shine upon him. "Slytherin won't be that bad, right? I mean, I was worried about everyone staying away from me because I might ruin their reputation or make people think they want to be Death Eaters or something. I thought Slytherin would mean people being more careful around me than anyone in any other House. But then, well…"

He trailed off, his smile falling as he looked at Albus.

"You'll have at least one friend, Scorpius," Albus assured him with a small smile. "I promise. It's not like I'm planning on making many friends here either, and I get why you're happy, don't let me ruin it."

Scorpius offered him a smile. "But you wish you were in Gryffindor," he said.

Albus shrugged, not agreeing as readily as Scorpius had expected.

"I don't know anymore," he admitted. "I thought I did. It's where both my parents were, where my brother is, where my grandparents were. On both sides. It seemed like the best option of the four. But I was never really sure if it was actually for me."

Scorpius couldn't stop himself from grinning at Albus' words.

"A Potter in Slytherin though," he said jokingly. His voice became more sympathetic as he continued. "This is going to be big news. Everyone will be interested in it. Bet there's a story tomorrow in the _Prophet_."

Albus shifted in his seat, using his fork to play with the mashed potatoes he had scooped onto his plate.

"Maybe," he said with a shrug. "If Mum doesn't manage to stop it. Sometimes she can with stuff like that, and sometimes they push it through behind her back. I'm more worried about hearing from Mum and Dad to be honest. And Uncle Ron. Merlin, Uncle Ron won't take this well."

Scorpius took a risk by allowing his shoulder to lightly bump into Abus'.

"Hey, don't worry too much," he said. "There's nothing you can do, and it's happened." Scorpius felt like a hypocrite, but he thought this type of hypocrisy might be part of friendship. "Everyone else will have to figure out how to deal with it. Just ignore them."

Albus nodded. "You're right." He already looked like he had cheered up slightly. "I won't. Let everyone else say what they want, right?"

"RIght," Scorpius echoed.

Albus offered him a smile, and it seemed genuine enough. There was no longer any fear.

"Pass me the pork?" Albus requested before filling his plate to bursting, appearing every part the happy-go-lucky first year he had aspired to be.

XXX

The Slytherin common room was remarkably green. That was Albus' first thought, and when he voiced as much to Scorpius, the other boy giggled in agreement. Scorpius went on to say that he felt like a fish, pointing to the lake that could be seen through every window in the room. By the time their prefect had brought them down to the dungeons, the lake was as dark as the night sky, allowing them to see very little. It was one of the more terrifying things Albus had seen in his short life, and he and Scorpius had both fled rather thankfully down to their dormitory, where there were no windows at all.

Albus scanned the room again, making sure he wasn't disturbing anyone. As far as he could tell, he was minding his own business rather well, but he had the distinct impression that he was going to be working backwards with his roommates, convincing them not to hate him instead of convincing them to like him.

He glanced over at Scorpius, who was asleep under his covers. He'd gone out like a light once he was in his pyjamas. Albus already had the distinct impression that Scorpius had led a life that included little stimulation, both mentally and physically. It was an experience that Albus hadn't had with his many cousins, and even now, he didn't find himself exhausted enough to fall asleep.

One of their roommates was in the toilet preparing for bed. Another two were sleeping like Scorpius but snoring much louder than the blonde. The last of their roommates was down in the common room, bonding with the older students who had claimed territory there. That particular roommate hadn't even glanced at Albus or Scorpius, and both boys had whispered to each other that he seemed like the kind who would quickly climb the social ladder and enjoy it too.

The room was dark, but it was more of a dark green than a black. Albus wasn't sure if it was light from the common room filtering down to their dormitories or if all of Slytherin's rooms had been magicked to be this way. He would have believed either.

He glanced down at the parchment that he'd laid across a textbook that he had yet to open on his bed. Scorpius had fallen asleep an hour ago, and Albus had said he was following after him as soon as he wrote a quick note to his parents. Yet there Albus was without a single word written. Scorpius had fired what felt seemed a whole novel off to his parents within minutes, but he'd gotten the outcome his parents had been hoping for.

The lack of light made it difficult for him to see the parchment, so there was no telling how legible the letter would be. Yet that gave Albus a sense of leniency that might have been the only thing that allowed him to write the letter in the end.

 _Dear Mum and Dad,_

 _I'm writing you this letter before going to bed because I'm hoping you'll get it with the morning post and read it before you read the paper. Not that it'll do much good, Mum, considering. Still. I figured I should write you._

 _I got sorted into Slytherin, if you didn't already know. And, yeah, I don't know. That's all I've got to say. I know that you told me it would be okay, Dad, but I think the Slytherins all hate me because I'm a Potter. And the rest of the school hates me because I got sorted into Slytherin._

 _I don't expect either of you to admit you're disappointed. I know that your response is going to be about how great Hogwarts is and how this doesn't mean anything bad, but that's what you're supposed to say._

 _I have made a friend. Scorpius Malfoy. Yeah, I know. He's nothing like what I've heard about his family before though. I don't think he's like his dad because then Uncle Ron wouldn't hate Draco Malfoy so much. I kinda think that Scorpius is amazed that he even made a friend, let alone that the friend is a Potter. I think I'm his first one, but he seems really cool. At least there's that._

 _It's late, and I know you'd be telling me to go to bed if you were here, Mum. I promise I am now. Maybe classes tomorrow will make everything seem better. I'm just glad I'll have Scorpius with me and won't be entirely alone._

 _Hopefully I haven't messed up too badly._

 _Love,_

 _Albus_

Albus sighed as he folded the parchment up and slipped it into an envelope, scribbling Grimmauld Place's address onto the front. He slid out of bed, creeping as quietly as he could to the closest window where his barn owl rested.

She watched him carefully as he approached, aware of what he was about to ask of her.

"You need to stretch your wings after that long train ride, huh, girl?" He held out the letter, and she obediently stuck her leg out for him to tie it on. "It's going to Mum and Dad, so I guess your train ride will feel pointless. But at least you get to fly this time. They'll probably send a response back, but don't be afraid to stop for some mice on the way back. I won't want to read what they have to say anyway."

The owl gave a quiet hoot as Albus stroked her feathers. She always seemed to understand what Albus was saying, and he wondered how intelligent she really was.

The lack of windows in the dormitory didn't deter her. After a quick little hop, she took off into the air, making a quick circle around the room before flying out the door in the direction of the common room. Albus was sure that, somehow, she would make it out of the castle, but he did feel a little worried. She was as new to the place as he was. What if she got lost?

It was a foolish fear when talking about an owl. He expected her to navigate all the way back to London by herself but not find her way out of the castle?

With another sigh, Albus settled himself back down onto his bed. Having written the letter, he had no good excuse not to sleep. The water of the shower had shut off, meaning one other roommate was sure to join them soon.

Albus forced himself to burrow under the covers of his new bed. The mattress was the perfect comfort level. Soft but not too soft. There were enough covers to provide the right amount of warmth in the dungeons' cold. Everything about the bed was done correctly.

But it wasn't his bed. He'd slept in the same bed every night of his life since he'd graduated from a crib with limited exceptions, such as nights spent at the Burrow or Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron's house. His bed here in the Slytherin dormitories could be as comfortable as it wanted to be, and Albus would still never be able to sleep.

Everything felt wrong, and as Albus laid there, desperately wishing for sleep, it felt like things would never get better. But the tears would be gone by morning, and only Albus would ever need to know how he felt inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks once again to TheMortalMan and Pendragon2601 for beta reading. This chapter is shorter than the previous two. Sorry about that.**

Chapter 3

The Great Hall had a different atmosphere the morning after the sorting, one that was contrary to the bright blue sky reflected in the ceiling. Although the first years still exuded a sense of excitement, many of the older students had become sullen at the thought of classes. The fifth and seventh years in particular were grumbling amongst each other, frowning as their Heads of House gave them their schedules.

In comparison to the night before's feast, the selection of food at breakfast was meager, but it was more than enough to fill Scorpius' and Albus' stomachs. Scorpius ate with gusto, while Albus picked at his food and forced it down, knowing he'd make himself feel worse if he didn't eat.

Scorpius had noticed this, and he spent a great deal of his time glancing at his new friend, worried that Albus' continued uncertainty about having been sorted into Slytherin would drive him away from their newly-formed friendship.

"Sausage?" Scorpius asked, holding the plate too close to Albus' face. He had never been good at judging where the lines between acceptable and unacceptable were when it came to such simple things, but he got the hint from the way Albus moved away from the plate that he'd held it too close.

"No, I'm good," Albus said, hardly glancing at the food. "I've gotten enough."

Scorpius looked down at the other boy's plate. It was true that he'd gotten enough food for it to be considered a hearty breakfast, but much of it had gone uneaten.

Before Scorpius could say anything more, the sounds of owls began echoing through the Great Hall. Albus and Scorpius looked up in wonder, never having seen so many owls descending at once. Scorpius felt his posture straighten as he waited to see if any of the owls would come towards him. Albus, on the other hand, sunk down on the bench, knowing a response from his parents was sure to be coming.

Sure enough, owls landed in front of both of them, each the same owl they had sent out the night before. Scorpius' great grey owl Antonia towered over Albus' barn owl Trace, almost twice its size. Scorpius reached for his own owl's leg while Albus settled on staring his owl in the eye, wondering if he could get her to fly away without him taking the letter off her leg. After several seconds, she hooted in indignation and stuck her leg out in Albus' direction, her message clear. With a sigh, Albus took the letter.

Before opening it, he glanced at Scorpius and saw the utter delight on his features. If only Albus felt that excited to hear what his parents had to say.

Scorpius didn't notice the attention he was receiving from Albus, too caught up in the letter he'd received. There were expectations that came with people a Malfoy. Though some had faded since the war, others remained.

 _Dear Scorpius,_

 _Congratulations on being sorted into Slytherin. Your mother and I are very proud. She would have written as well, but she's decided that it will take at least another day before she gets everything she has to say down on paper. She's asked me to inquire about anything you may have left at Malfoy Manor so that she may get it to you as quickly as possible._

 _I know that you will wear the Slytherin colours with pride, and all of us here at Malfoy Manor will be thinking of you as you begin your schooling._

 _While news of your Sorting was welcomed, I was also interested to hear your story of befriending the Potter boy. He sounds very unlike his father, if I'm being honest with you, Scorpius, and I wish you the best with him as the school year continues. If there was only one thing I wish I could have changed about my years at Hogwarts, it would have been making a better choice in friends, and I've always hoped that you would not repeat my mistakes. You seem to not have. Congratulations._

 _Your Proud Father,_

 _Draco Malfoy_

Scorpius beamed, reading the letter over and over again. His father was never forthcoming with praise.

Having read his letter enough times that he could remember everything that it said, Scorpius looked over at Albus, who was still turning his own letter over in his hand, not having opened it.

"If you don't get a move on, you won't get to read it before class," Scorpius said.

Albus glanced up at him, a wary look on his face. Still, he listened to Scorpius' urging and slid a finger into the envelope, opening it.

The parchment felt heavy as he tugged it out, especially considering its short length. He'd only seen his parents yesterday; Albus hadn't been expecting a novel. As soon as he'd unfolded it, Albus could see that the letter had been written in his father's handwriting.

 _Dear Albus,_

 _Your mother has left for the_ Prophet _offices after being tipped off by another employee that they were trying to push through a story about your sorting. I'm telling you this not to make you feel worse than you do based on your letter but so that you'll be prepared if she fails. Let's be honest though, we both know your mother, and if they publish that story, she'll raise hell._

 _Anyway, I don't want to spend this letter talking about the_ Prophet _. Merlin knows I've never been particularly fond of that paper. What I want to talk about is some of the things you said in your letter, Al._

 _I told you on that platform that it wouldn't matter if you were sorted into Slytherin, and I meant it. I know you, and I know you're not going to believe me, but your mum and I are both more than okay with you wearing green. I'll even forgive you if you cheer for Slytherin at Quidditch matches._

 _The only thing I wish is that I could make sure you understand how truthful I'm being._

 _Enjoy your time at Hogwarts. It's an amazing place, and you deserve to be as happy there as I was. Don't let anyone else bother you. You'll find your real friends._

 _Love,_

 _Dad_

Albus stared down at the letter for several moments after he read the last word. Tears stung at his eyes, and he was scared that they would be revealed to the entire Great Hall if he looked up. It was all he could do to keep himself composed and not let the tears fall.

For all the wishing he'd done to finally be at Hogwarts, to get to experience all the things James liked to brag about on breaks, Albus suddenly wanted nothing more than to be back at home. He wanted to be eating his dad's cooking for breakfast while he discussed the Quidditch highlights with his family. Those highlights that his mum had written about in the _Prophet_ , of course.

He wanted to spend the afternoon practicing Quidditch with his dad. He wanted to know that Kreacher would be there to sneak him snacks if he got hungry during the day.

He wanted to be dropped off with Grandma Weasley when both of his parents went to work. He wanted to be ordered to de-gnome the garden and then come inside and be fed his grandma's cooking.

Albus wanted everything that had been the only life he'd known for eleven years. Suddenly, everything was different, and while he'd been nervous about being a Slytherin, it was only then that the enormity of the change hit him. Hogwarts was his life for the next seven years. Most of his days would be spent in its halls, and there was no escaping that. So much of what had occupied his time for eleven years was gone.

There was no getting it back.

"Albus, you okay?" Scorpius asked, voice coloured with worry.

Albus offered him a trace of a smile, nodding.

"I'm fine. The letter's exactly what I was expecting. Mum had already left for the _Prophet_ when Dad wrote it, so I suppose there's nothing in the paper."

In response, Scorpius' eyes scanned the Slytherin table until they found a fifth year not far down from them who was scanning the inner contents of the day's _Prophet_ , the front page staring back at Scorpius and Albus.

"GOBLINS CATCH WOULD-BE THIEF ON GRINGOTTS' DOORSTEP."

Ginny Potter had to have succeeded if an attempted thief being caught before he'd even entered the bank had taken precedence over Albus' sorting. It seemed like a slow news day.

The thought filled Albus with a sense of relief, not that it made much of a difference. Everyone in the castle knew he was a Slytherin, and many of their family members would know already, spreading the news further and further. In a community the size of the British wizarding world, a story being published in the paper wasn't the only way for it to be known by all.

"Already hearing from Mum and Dad. Couldn't go longer than a day, Al?"

Albus froze at the sound of his brother's taunt, delivered loud enough that many of the surrounding students directed their attention to the two of them.

Albus had been waiting for the moment his brother confronted him, but he'd hoped that James would choose somewhere more private. He should have known that such a thing would never be the case. James thrived on attention.

"What do you want, James?" Albus replied. While much had changed, at least his antagonism with his brother remained the same. Perhaps Albus had discovered a benefit to not being in Gryffindor.

"I've come to see how my favourite little brother fared his first night in the House of the Snakes, dear Albus."

James slid onto the bench of the Slytherin House table as if he belonged there, prompting a few glares from the Slytherins nearest them. Albus offered them an apologetic grin, hoping they wouldn't blame him for this.

Scorpius watched James with hesitant curiosity, not wanting to speak up and draw the older boy's attention to him. He didn't know much about James Potter, but in the short time frame since he'd approached them, Scorpius had realized James was someone whose attention he didn't want to gain. People like James were always the ones to most readily say things that left Scorpius feeling hurt and broken.

"You don't care about how I'm faring," Albus said bitterly. "You just wanted to come taunt me for being a Slytherin."

James burst into laughter. Scorpius and Albus both cringed at the sound, Scorpius glancing around to see how many people were staring.

Too many.

"Why doubt me, little brother?" James threw an arm across Albus' shoulders. "Of course I'm amused to have a Slytherin in the family. You've broken the Potter streak and given our family more notoriety in the process. I didn't think that was possible, Al. It's impressive enough that I almost wish I had done it. Though I don't look my best in green, makes me look kind of ill."

"Shove off, James," Albus told him, emphasizing his words by shrugging off James' arm. "I'm not in the mood."

Something about Albus' reaction made James grow serious. James watched his brother for a moment, pensive look on his face, before he spoke again.

"Al, no one actually cares," he said in a quieter voice than he'd been using before. "I know I was taunting you about it yesterday, but that was because I knew it would set you off. I didn't mean it."

"Whatever, James," Albus replied. "We both know how much you hate Slytherin."

"I'm not lying. That stuff's mostly for a laugh. I'm not serious. When am I ever serious?"

Albus didn't answer, staring intently down at the food he hadn't taken a bite of since before James appeared.

James waited for a reply for several moments before sighing.

"Look," he said, "it was unexpected, that's true. I didn't think it was an actual possibility yesterday, and I'm even more surprised to see you hanging out with a Malfoy." He gestured at Scorpius, who stiffened. "But I'm not, like, angry or anything. I couldn't care less, and I'm being serious. You can't actually think Mum and Dad care either."

Albus stayed silent, taking a bite of his sausage as an excuse not to answer James.

James rolled his eyes in response.

"They don't care," he said. "Surely they told you that in their letter."

James reached over to pick up the discarded parchment from the table, not bothering to ask permission to read Albus' mail.

"See," he said. "Dad told you that he and Mum don't mind. They're not lying to you, idiot."

Albus rolled his eyes but didn't provide James with a spoken response.

After a moment of silence, James sighed once more and pushed himself up from the table.

"I'm off to Transfiguration," he declared. "I think we're learning how to transfigure books into something or other today, or that's what someone said. Whatever. I'll talk to you later, Al. Maybe by then you'll be less grumpy." He tapped his chin, pretending to think for a moment. "Nah. You'll still be grumpy. Who am I kidding? Bye, Al. Bye, Scorpio or whatever."

He threw a half wave over his shoulder as he left. More than a few Slytherins were glaring at his back, angry that a Gryffindor, especially James Potter, had dared to enter their territory and ruin their breakfast. Or maybe they just wanted him to stop yelling this early in the morning.

"Scorpio," Scorpius repeated in a whisper as if he were testing the name. "I'll take it," he declared.

"It's not a nickname, Scorpius," Albus said, unable to watch his tone to prevent hurting Scorpius' feelings.

"Oh, I know," Scorpius said. "But he acknowledged my presence without insulting me and was somewhat close to my name. I didn't think he knew my name at all."

Albus watched as Scorpius cheerfully took a bite of his eggs. He wouldn't have considered such a thing something to celebrate. Any interaction with James was on the difficult side of things, and he had heard Scorpius' name spoken enough that he should have already known it. The Malfoys were infamous amongst the Weasleys.

Professor Ingham, their Head of House, began trudging along the row of Slytherin students. He fumbled with the parchment in his hands, trying to shuffle through far too many schedules at once. It was a little odd when the other Heads of House seemed to be magically conjuring them as needed. But Professor Ingham went about his task with a smile on his face, not seeming to notice that his robes were askew due to his struggling.

"Ah, Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy." Ingham smiled even brighter at them each as he reached them. He was the first one to take any joy at seeing the two of them interacting. "You do both look so much like your fathers."

He consulted the stack of parchment he held in his hands, sorting through it until he found the two pieces with their names on them. It took several minutes longer than it probably should have. His eyes scanned them both quickly before he handed them over.

"Looks like you're both in Potions with Professor Sawtell first thing, but you'll have Transfiguration with me not long after," he told them with a slight laugh as if he couldn't believe his luck. He hurried off with a quick wave.

"Well," Scorpius said, looking over his timetable, "I suppose that's not the worst class to start out with."

"Do you enjoy brewing potions?" Albus asked curiously.

Scorpius shrugged. "I have no idea. Never tried to brew one. I do like to bake with my mum though, so maybe that'll help me with Potions."

"Maybe," Albus said. "It sounds like you have a better chance than I do. I've never brewed a potion or baked anything in my life."

He offered Scorpius a grin before standing up from the table.

"Don't want to be late on our first day," he said. "I'm not prepared to be on any professor's bad side this early in the term."

"True," Scorpius agreed. "But I'm sure you won't be miserable at Potions."

Albus shrugged as they headed out of the Great Hall. "I think James set Sawtell on fire once. Swore it was an accident, but who knows? He's complete rubbish at potions. If I follow after him, then I don't stand a chance."

"Well, you haven't followed after James so far."

Albus shrugged, feeling uncomfortable with such talk.

"Doesn't matter," he said.

Scorpius hummed in what seemed like agreement.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Once again, thanks to Pendragon2601 and TheMortalMan for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 4

The potions dungeon was darker than other parts of the castle, but it lacked the ever present green light that was a staple of the Slytherin dungeons.

Albus and Scorpius were both grateful. Maybe one day they would become accustomed to seeing in nothing but shades of green, but they weren't there yet. They needed a break from that strange world.

The classroom was half full by the time they arrived. Sawtell didn't let their entrance pass unnoticed either. She greeted them both the second they entered the room, asking for their names though she had to be aware of who they were after witnessing the sorting. Her demeanor was bright in a way that made her seem much larger than she actually was. It was only emphasized by the purple lipstick she wore. Both boys introduced themselves and shook her hand before scuttling to the back of the classroom, feeling like just being near the professor put them on display.

Their chosen station was tucked into a corner and was the farthest they could get from the other students, who ignored their presence.

Potions was with the Ravenclaws, who by and large ignored the Slytherins, but neither Scorpius nor Albus missed the way the other Slytherin first years also avoided making eye contact with the two of them.

With a sigh, Albus sat his brand new cauldron on the table in front of him.

"They'll come around," Scorpius muttered, more to himself than to Albus, and Albus didn't bother with a reply. He didn't want to spend any more of his time hoping that he'd be able to fit in. It felt better to accept the disappointment and move on with his life.

"Good morning, students!" Sawtell began at the start of class.

Albus wondered if she was always this excited or if this was only for the first day of the year.

"It is likely that many of you have never brewed a potion in your life," Sawtell continued, chuckling at the thought. "One can't blame parents for not wanting strange explosions or melted cauldrons in the house, but I can never help but wish that parents would let their young ones have more freedom to experiment. We'd have far more talented potion makers if children were given the opportunity to play with cauldrons."

Scorpius and Albus shared a look. That sounded like a disaster waiting to happen, and Albus was pretty sure from one of Uncle Percy's long rants that there was a cauldron regulation that had something to do with not letting children use them. This was more than a whim of parents like Sawtell seemed to suggest.

"But here we are, and we must work with what skills we have. Many of you will blossom and discover a true love for the wonderful art of potion-making. Today, I thought that we would start off with something easy." She waved her wand, allowing directions to appear on the chalkboard. "This is the first potion in your books. You should complete it by the end of class. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!"

Scorpius and Albus set to work, whispering what might have constituted as advice between themselves as they worked.

"I think you need to slice up your grasshopper into smaller chunks."

"Do you think I need to stop stirring at the exact spot in the cauldron each time?"

Neither knew what they were doing, and Scorpius looked stressed out at the notion, panicking when his potion did anything that might have been a hint that he wasn't on the right track. Albus, on the other hand, found the process quite therapeutic.

"I know it's not the right shade of orange," he explained to Scorpius, "but this is kind of...fun, I suppose. I wouldn't mind doing this more."

"Well, lucky for you, you'll have plenty of chances," Scorpius replied.

Albus looked at Scorpius' cauldron, which was closer to the right shade of orange than Albus'.

"You're not doing a bad job," he said, not wanting his friend to become discouraged during the first class of their Hogwarts careers. "It looks just like Sawtell said it should."

"Oh, I know," Scorpius replied. "I'm not worried about that. I feel exhausted though. I can't believe I have to do this every Potions class for the next seven years. My back hurts from hunching over, and I keep panicking over everything. I'm glad you find it relaxing, but I find it anything but."

Sawtell ambled past their cauldrons, nodding in approval at Scorpius' potion and causing Scorpius to smile again. Sawtell looked at Albus' next, face taking on a more thoughtful expression.

"I know it's not perfect," Albus said, unable to take the tension of Sawtell inspecting the imperfect potion without saying something.

Sawtell debated with herself for a moment before speaking.

"Not perfect, no," she admitted. "But it is your first potion, Mr Potter. I've seen you over here hard at work. Don't think I haven't. You might still have the makings of a fine potions master yet. Only time will tell."

She walked away with a new smile on her face, and Albus grinned after her despite thinking the woman was wrong.

XXX

"Albus! Al!"

Albus groaned, something that was turning into far too common of a response when it was only his first day of classes.

Scorpius, for his part, was amused that anyone would stop them in the corridor to talk. Seeing family members approach Albus was novel.

Albus had made it through Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms before any of his family members had accosted him in the corridor. That had been far too long. He should have known one of them would appear sooner rather than later.

He turned around to face his cousin. "What, Victoire?" he asked.

Victoire smiled at him and even at Scorpius. Of all his cousins, Albus knew that she was one of those likely not to make a big fuss about Albus befriending a Malfoy. Maybe he shouldn't have snapped at her. Victoire's overly accepting nature made her his best bet as an ally.

Victoire was also the first Weasley in a couple of generations to be sorted into a House other than Gryffindor.

"I wanted to check on you," she explained. "I ran into James earlier—quite literally—and he mentioned you acting strangely. Said you were being mopey."

"I'm not mopey," Albus replied defensively. "I'm fine."

Victoire nodded her head, but the way she was biting at her lip made it clear that she didn't believe him and was only biding her time as she figured out how to say as much as gently as possible.

"Remember when I was sorted into Hufflepuff?" she asked.

Albus shrugged. "I was only four, so not really."

"Right, so you don't remember how everyone reacted."

Albus tried to remember, but he had no memories of the event stored away in his memories. Victoire had always been a Hufflepuff to him. He didn't remember any differently.

"Victoire, Scorpius and I really need to get to History of Magic."

Victoire glanced at Albus' companion again as if she had just been reminded that he was there. Scorpius offered a half wave at the acknowledgment. Victoire nodded at him.

"I'll walk with the two of you," she said. "That way I can make sure you get there. Plenty of students wind up lost on the first day. My first year we had students who missed Charms because they were wandering the castle for all of it. It's a terrible day to miss, the first one. I don't think you ever quite catch up. I have a free period next anyway. Come on."

Her fears were unnecessary, but Albus couldn't come up with an excuse for why Victoire shouldn't walk them to class. Albus felt a lot like a small child as he and Scorpius followed after his older cousin. She was leading them in a way that made it clear that she held the authority, and while Albus was used to such things with Victoire, he felt self-conscious as they passed the other students.

"As I was saying," Victoire began again once they had turned down a corridor that wasn't as busy as the last, "the family was shocked to have a Hufflepuff around. It had been taken as a given that I'd be sorted into Gryffindor. Only Mum had brought up the possibility that there might be a different outcome. I think that might've been what led me to accept Hufflepuff actually."

Albus' eyebrows shot up. "You chose?"

Victoire shrugged.

"Not exactly. I didn't fight it when the Sorting Hat made the suggestion."

Albus looked over at Scorpius, who offered him a grin. The blonde boy was enjoying Victoire's story, even if it was primarily because it was helping give him the illusion of having more friends than just Albus as they walked the halls of Hogwarts.

"Plus," Victoire continued, not stopping to pay attention to the two boys, "Teddy was already in Hufflepuff, so I knew there would be a friendly face."

"That's what makes it different though, isn't it?" Albus asked. "You may have been the first Weasley, but Teddy's family, and he was already a Hufflepuff. No one in the family is a Slytherin. And no one in the family hates Hufflepuffs the way they do Slytherins."

Victoire shrugged, always dismissing what Albus had to say.

"I think Mum would have been a Slytherin if she'd gone to Hogwarts. Actually, I was surprised that Dominique wasn't one, and I have little doubt that it's because she fought it. Even if she refuses to admit as much. You're not as unique as you think you are, Albus Potter."

Probably not the best choice of words to comfort someone, but Albus was thankful for the reminder of Dominique. He, too, had thought that his cousin had some of the qualities of Slytherin, though he'd never thought to question the girl's sorting much. Like with Victoire, it had happened when Albus was very young, so Dominique had never been anything but a Gryffindor to Albus.

"That's nice and all, Victoire, but it doesn't change anything. I'm the first of the family to be a Slytherin in how long exactly?" He paused long enough to see Victoire's hesitation. "Exactly! I'm officially the black sheep among Weasleys and Potters alike. There's no changing that."

"You're no more a black sheep than I am for being a Hufflepuff, and would you call me a black sheep for that?"

Albus and Scorpius could tell that they were nearing the correct classroom from the way Victoire's steps slowed, keeping them around for longer than they would be otherwise.

"No," Albus said, "but like I said, it's different."

Victoire sighed, turning around to face her younger cousin as they stood in front of a classroom door.

"Give it some time, Al. Everything will work out. I promise."

With one last wave, directed at both Albus and Scorpius, Victoire disappeared down the corridor. There was a hop to her step that hinted at her happiness at being back at Hogwarts for her final year. Albus and Scorpius watched her go, both hoping they'd be able to march around the corridors of the castle looking that confident by the time they were seventh years.

Albus sighed, glancing over to see Scorpius watching him thoughtfully.

"Come on," he urged, turning and heading into the History of Magic classroom.

The room was mostly empty. Enough rumours about History of Magic circulated that few students were eager to arrive at this particular class. As students shuffled in, Scorpius and Albus could feel the difference in mood, although perhaps it was the resident ghost that was giving the room its cold, detached feeling.

Around half the students had arrived when someone slid in beside Albus, startling him. In the split second it took for Albus to recognize his cousin Rose, he also realized that Scorpius had stiffened beside him. Scorpius watched Rose closely, worried that she was about to glare at him or tell him to find another seat.

"Rose," Albus said out of surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Rose gave him a pitying look. She had had a less than stellar reaction to last night's outcome. Albus knew what Uncle Ron would say, and the man had been saying as much to Rose since birth: Slytherins were trouble.

"So, Gryffindor," Albus said, feeling Rose's own sorting was a safer place to start. "How's that going?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "It's going as expected. Two of the girls from my dormitory seem decent. A third just wanted to convince me to introduce her to James, so I don't think we'll be friends."

"Ew," Albus exclaimed, unable to stop himself from laughing at the idea of a random first year already having a crush on his brother. "Yeah, don't befriend her. She doesn't have good taste."

Rose looked at a nearby table and giggled.

"That's her," she whispered. "I think she can hear you."

Albus felt his cheeks heat up as he glanced over at the girl. She was watching them with curiosity. Albus couldn't tell if she'd realized they were speaking about her or if she was only staring because he was Harry Potter's son. Either way, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Scorpius started laughing beside him, and Rose stiffened. Her expression became guarded all of the sudden, and Albus wondered if she'd been able to forget, for a moment, that her cousin had been sorted into Slytherin.

Scorpius noticed Rose's changed expression as well, and he quickly quelled his laughter, feeling self-conscious. His guard went back up as he watched Rose, feeling frustrated. He only wanted to be friends, but everything he did seemed to make her draw back not only from him but from Albus as well.

Professor Binns floated through the wall and began calling attendance in a slow, bored voice that hinted that he had an eternity to get anything done. Rose's eyes flickered anxiously at him, not wanting to miss any of the lecture, but she continued to whisper to Albus, not looking at Scorpius.

"Look. I'm not thrilled you're a Slytherin. Let's be honest. I'd pictured us being in Gryffindor together, and it would be great if that were the case. But you're my cousin, so I'm going to forgive you for letting this happen."

Albus, feeling a little more comfortable after hearing Rose's words, rolled his eyes at the notion that he should be blamed for anything.

"You're a Slytherin," Rose continued. "It happened, but we have to move on. Obviously there's nothing anyone can do about it, so I accept it or whatever."

"'Or whatever'," Albus mimicked. "Nice pep talk, Rose. You really know how to talk to people."

She reached out to shove him but was unable to keep a grin from her lips. The smile fell as she looked past Albus at Scorpius. She made eye contact, but feeling nervous, Scorpius let his eyes fall to the desk, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of her gaze.

"You, I still don't trust." Rose didn't bother to soften her voice or speak in a way that Scorpius might have taken as less of an attack. The blonde's shoulders hunched over as he folded into himself, wanting nothing more than to disappear. He liked Rose well enough when she was talking to Albus, but when she spoke to him, she became scary. Like someone else entirely.

Albus gave her a warning glare that she ignored.

"But," Rose continued, looking hesitantly between Albus and Scorpius, "Albus wants to be friends with you for some reason, and I trust my cousin. I guess I'm willing to give you a chance." Scorpius chanced a quick glance up at her, unable to believe her words. "Know that this is on a trial basis only. You screw up, and it's over. For good. I'm not giving a Malfoy a second chance."

"What would 'messing up' be exactly?" Scorpius asked in a scratchy voice. "What would I have to do?"

Rose physically leaned away from the boys as she took in the question, and her eyes became distant as she thought, no longer trying to listen to Binns as he explained which topics they would be covering over the course of all seven years of their education.

"Anything stupid," was the answer she settled on, but she didn't appear that certain of her answer.

"Anything stupid," Scorpius repeated. "Got it."

Rose watched him as if trying to figure out whether he was making fun of her. He wasn't, and Scorpius wanted to prove it, yet he couldn't maintain eye contact without feeling like he was going to explode with discomfort. He shifted in his seat, as worried as always that he was coming across as not being genuine when he didn't mean to.

Albus rolled his eyes.

"This is ridiculous," he complained loudly. Several students around them turned to look at him, and Albus offered an apologetic look as Binns continued to drone on in that monotone voice that the students were already tired of.

"It's ridiculous to be careful around a Malfoy?" Rose asked, getting worked up.

"It's ridiculous to be careful around _Scorpius_ ," Albus continued, being careful that he didn't raise his voice, "when he's given you no reason to and proven that you shouldn't."

Scorpius stared at Albus, not realizing that his mouth was hanging open. No one had ever defended him in such a way before. When people whispered on the streets, his mother or father hurried him away. Scorpius had never had someone confront an insult directed at him head on.

Albus felt Scorpius' eyes on him, and glanced over at the boy, blushing as they made eye contact. This time it was Albus who shifted uncomfortably under Scorpius' gaze. Scorpius was too bewildered to feel self-conscious.

"It's true," Albus said with a shrug, trying to deflect the awkwardness he felt. "You haven't. In fact," he turned back to Rose, "Scorpius has been a little more accepting than certain other people over the last couple of days."

Rose's eyes flashed, and Scorpius held his breath. A few of the students at the table closest to them were trying to discreetly watch them. They had a far more attentive audience than Binns, who had already managed to put half the class to sleep.

Despite the palpable tension, no one said a word, not even Rose. She turned back towards the ghostly professor, scribbling down some notes that couldn't have made any sense without any of the context that came before them. Scorpius watched her sympathetically, wishing he could say something that would make her feel better, but he knew that him saying anything would only make her angrier.

When class ended, Rose began throwing items into her bag in a disorganized way that was uncharacteristic of her. Albus kept his head down, not looking up at her, and Scorpius snuck quick glances at both of them as he gathered his own things, trying to avoid eye contact. Not difficult when neither of them wanted to look at him.

Once she had her bag packed, Rose took a step towards the door, but then she hesitated, glancing back at her cousin for the first time since he'd last spoken. Albus continued to stare down at his bag, but Scorpius watched the indecision on Rose's face until she managed to get words out.

"Yes, I distrust a Malfoy, but I have good reasons for it. I hope you haven't forgotten them." She looked at Scorpius. "Like I said, I'll give you a chance, but I'm not apologizing for not trusting a member of the family who hurt my family. I'm just not."

With that, she stormed out of the classroom, not looking back at them. Scorpius, who hadn't had time to formulate a reaction to Rose's words, stared at the now empty doorway.

Albus muttered under his breath as he finished throwing his things into his bag, using more force than was necessary. Scorpius watched him with a creased brow, wishing he knew what to say to make things better. Some people seemed to be quite good at doing that. Scorpius never had been.

Throwing his bag over his shoulder, Albus looked up at Scorpius again. The two boys made eye contact for a brief second before Scorpius' eyes flickered away, towards the ground.

"Ready to go back to the common room?" Albus asked Scorpius.

Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, I suppose."

There was nowhere else to go now that they were done with the school day, but both boys felt hesitant to return to the common room that they hadn't felt welcome in the night before. The common room meant attempting to find a place where they could sit and stay out of everyone's way. Theoretically, they belonged there as much as anyone else, but neither could shake the belief that they'd be taking up space better reserved for others.

"We're going to have to scope out the castle," Albus said as they walked. "Find other places to spend time. I know there has to be somewhere. Imagine if we could find the Room of Requirement. That'd be amazing, but Mum and Dad would never tell me where it is."

Scorpius hummed in agreement. He'd had a fascination with the Room of Requirement since he'd first heard his father mention having used it during how own time at Hogwarts, but he didn't feel adventurous enough to go seeking it out.

The entrance to the common room came into view, and both boys took deep breaths to prepare themselves. When the door swung open, it was to the sight of a handful of Slytherins who had gathered in two separate groups. None of them paid much attention to the new arrivals, causing Scorpius to let out an audible sigh of relief.

Albus led the way to two chairs that had been pulled into a corner of the room, as far away from the rest of the common room as one could get without leaving completely. They'd be isolated there, able to talk while remaining oblivious to any glares from their fellow Slytherins.

"It's just so green in here," Albus complained, letting his school bag topple to the floor.

Scorpius was more careful as he set his things down at his side, glancing around to see if anyone else had heard Albus' insult.

"I don't disagree," he said in a near whisper. "It gives you a headache, doesn't it? You have to strain to see properly."

Albus nodded. "It's like being underwater."

Scorpius smirked. "That's because we are." He pointed towards the nearest window, emphasizing his point. Outside, two Grindylows struggled with each other in the water.

Albus shuddered. "Don't remind me. It freaks me out to be honest. I can't shake the feeling that something will break and we'll all drown in a few seconds flat."

"If that hasn't happened in the millennia this school has existed, I doubt it will happen while we're here."

Despite such logic, Albus shrugged and didn't confess that Scorpius was right.

Scorpius couldn't blame him. The Slytherin common room's decor wasn't his favorite. However, there was enough green in the decor of Malfoy Manor that he was used to it, able to adjust to the Slytherin dungeons with more ease than Albus.

"Well," Albus said, "Rose talked to me today. I didn't expect that to happen. I thought it would take at least a month or two before she was willing to have another conversation with me. Rose holds grudges for longer than anyone else I know, and she takes everything personally. I'm sure she's done the same with my sorting."

"You're her cousin," Scorpius said. "And you two have started Hogwarts where everything's unfamiliar. That's going to help her go easy on you, isn't it?"

Albus shrugged. "Maybe. I know she seemed harsh, but that was better than I would have expected."

Scorpius nodded. It was more than he had expected too, and that was after knowing Rose only for the length of a day. She scared him. Scorpius had to admit that much, and it only felt worse now that it appeared he had lured her cousin to the 'House of the Evil'.

"But maybe," Albus continued, "if Rose manages to get over it, then everyone else can too."

He didn't look too sure of that fact, but there was a hope in his eyes that Scorpius wouldn't put out. For now, Scorpius offered his new friend a gentle smile, encouraging him in what small ways that he could.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **I'm sorry that this chapter took longer to post than I had intended. I hate making excuses, but the past couple of weeks it's been difficult for me to focus on much of anything for a long list of reasons that no one wants to hear about. Anyway, thank you to Pendragon2601 and TheMortalMan for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 5

"This feels like where it should be."

Rose's eyes scanned the walls, looking for a tell-tale sign that they were in the correct spot. There wasn't one.

"It'll only appear if we walk past it three times thinking the same thing each time," Albus pointed out unnecessarily. Despite his criticism of Rose's methods, his eyes were also scanning the expanse of stone, looking for the same signs she was.

It had been Albus who had casually mentioned the Room of Requirement in Rose's presence several weeks ago, but Rose was the one who had galvanized them to actually go searching for it. She'd taken on a zeal that neither of the boys possessed, but they went along with it nonetheless.

"Why do you think the room's in this hallway?" Scorpius asked timidly, worried that there would be backlash like every other time he had spoken directly to Rose. "It doesn't look any different from any of the others."

Rose huffed in annoyance. There had only been a handful of excursions together by their third month of the school year, but already, the three of them had developed a set of group dynamics that Scorpius, in particular, hoped would change over time. If Rose could smile at him once in awhile, that would have been nice.

He made it a point to smile a lot at Rose because he hoped that it would help her realize how harmless he was. Instead, she took how uncomfortable he was with the tension between them as insincerity, and she would often scowl in response to his smiles, glancing away as Scorpius' face fell.

That had been going on since the start of the school year with little change, but Scorpius continued to tag along on these outings. His relationship with Rose might not have improved, but his friendship with Albus had strengthened beyond Scorpius' wild imaginings. For once in his life, he felt like he had a friend who cared about him as much as he cared about them. Scorpius had never felt as comfortable around anyone other than his own mother.

Albus Potter meant more to Scorpius than he could have imagined, and Rose had been Albus' best friend for most of his life. Albus had placed no pressure on Scorpius to befriend Rose (in fact, he often acted nervous about the two of them being in each other's presence), but Scorpius felt like he had to befriend Rose in order for things to be as they should be: Albus managing to have both Rose and Scorpius in his life.

Both boys watched as Rose paced the entire length of the wall three times, concentrating so intently that the veins of her forehead bulged. Albus worried that she was going to strain herself too much.

Nothing happened. Rose stared open mouthed at the wall as if it had betrayed her.

"So, that's not it," Albus said, causing Rose to turn and glare at him.

"We're going to find it," she vowed. "I swear that we're going to find it."

XXX

On the rare days when Rose agreed to spend time with them and didn't force them to go searching for the Room of Requirement, they were typically on the grounds. The weather was getting chillier, but it was still warm enough that, if they wore enough layers, they could sit for a while in relative comfort.

Rose refused to enter the Slytherin common room, which was for the best, and the mere idea of stepping foot in the Gryffindor common room made Scorpius panic. Nothing good would come of it, so the grounds it was.

"It's interesting how few places there are for people from other Houses to spend time with each other considering how big the castle is," Rose said as they sat on the edge of the lake. It felt much less intimidating here at its shores than it did when it was pressing in on the windows of the Slytherin Common Room.

"I don't think it's ever been that big of a priority," Albus said. "Especially for Slytherins and Gryffindors. Hogwarts students stick to their own Houses. They always have."

Rose frowned at this, looking surprised at the thought. Scorpius wasn't. Hogwarts wasn't designed so that friendships between Houses would form. It had been designed to keep them isolated from each other except in the smallest of ways.

"Seems like an exaggeration," Rose said. "Our parents were quite close with Luna at Hogwarts."

"Wow. One friend from a different House. The model of inter-House unity, weren't they?"

Rose frowned at Albus, but this time, it was clear that she was taking more consideration of his words than she had before. She looked thoughtful, less judgmental.

"I suppose there are ways they could have made it more convenient for us to be friends with each other," she said. "But I don't think that means they purposefully set things up in a way that would discourage friendships with other houses."

"No," Scorpius agreed, "instead they assumed that no one would want to be friends with each other. They wanted to stick to their own and didn't think about others not wanting to. Then it became the way things were, and why change something that works? So, here we are with things having been the way they are for centuries, and no one questions a thing."

Rose openly stared at Scorpius, and it was the first time she'd looked at him with no hint of hesitancy or antagonism.

Eventually, she managed to control her features and became closed off again, having little choice but to snap at Scorpius in order to regain her composure.

"Not like the Malfoys have helped with that throughout history."

"I didn't say that they had," Scorpius snapped. "Everyone did it."

It was the first time Scorpius had gotten defensive. He hadn't yelled or raised his voice by any means, but his tone wasn't lost on Rose. She watched him carefully with a furrowed brow, thrown off by how he reacted, though Scorpius knew this was what she had wanted from the beginning. She threw comments like that at him because she wanted him to get angry. She wanted him to fight back and prove just how much of a Malfoy he really was. It would help if he threw in the 'M' word. Rose would have everything she wanted.

But Scorpius wasn't going to give it to her. Even if he hadn't cared about what Rose thought of him—and he hated that he did care—Scorpius didn't feel comfortable saying such things, and at some point, Rose was going to have to believe him when he told her as much.

After he'd spoken, Scorpius expected her to fight back, for her to try to get under his skin further. He worked on controlling his breathing and keeping himself calm. He didn't have much of a temper, but Rose's continued antagonism was getting to him.

Instead, a small smirk formed on her face. Scorpius and Albus both watched her, feeling worried.

"Rose?" Albus asked. "What are you happy about?"

Rose offered a half shrug before turning back to the lake, not even glancing at the boys anymore. They looked at each other in confusion, only able to offer each other shrugs.

XXX

"We still have a lot of hallways to cover," Rose said as she continued marching down a hallway. They'd only managed to cover a couple of floors thoroughly despite all their trips, but none of them were confident they'd managed to uncover even a fraction of the secrets those hallways held. Any one of them could even be the home of the Room of Requirement, and they'd managed to miss it.

Albus and Scorpius hurried behind Rose, almost jogging in order to keep up.

Her eyes scanned the walls as she walked, still searching for some sort of sign that none of them actually believed would be there. Scorpius had offered several times to write to his father and ask about the room's position. He had a good idea that his father would provide it if Scorpius specified that it would help him make friends, even if those friends were a Potter and a Granger-Weasley.

But Rose had rejected the offer both times, wanting to find the room on her own but especially not wanting to find it based on guidance from Draco Malfoy, so they continued to explore the halls. Scorpius secretly liked it because it felt like an adventure, and he doubted he would have become as familiar with the passageways of Hogwarts if they hadn't gone on these excursions. Several months into his first year and he was already doing more than he had expected he would.

"You know," Rose commented casually several corridors later, "I feel like I'm in my rebellious phase."

Albus cringed, but Scorpius looked at her in confusion.

"Rose," Albus said in warning, but Rose paid him no attention as she continued.

"I mean, spending time with a Malfoy. My dad's completely lost it in his letters." She turned to look at Scorpius for a second. "He keeps warning me away from you as if you're dangerous. As it turns out, it's kind of fun. Especially how he's so far away and can't do anything. Not that he would if he could. Mum reels him in. She told me it was nice that I was being open-minded."

Rose snorted in amusement as she continued down the corridor, her back to Scorpius and Albus. Albus looked at Scorpius apologetically, and Scorpius looked back, feeling his cheeks warm.

He didn't know how he felt about what Rose had said. It was the first time she had expressed any positive feelings about spending time with him, but Scorpius also wasn't sure if he could classify her comments as positive. He felt conflicted more than anything else, so he stayed quiet, not saying anything to either of his companions.

Despite Albus' worried glances at Scorpius, Rose was oblivious to the fact that she'd said anything wrong. Scorpius couldn't tell if it was an act, but Albus seemed to think that it was, sending glares at her each time she made eye contact with him.

None of them said anything else about it, with Scorpius in particular trying to push Rose's comments to the back of his mind. Lingering on them would do him no good. He was enjoying Hogwarts; he felt accepted for the first time. Rose Granger-Weasley's one comment wouldn't ruin that for him. He wouldn't let it.

He certainly wouldn't let her see him cry.

XXX

"I can't believe Rose!" Albus exclaimed.

The two Slytherins had reached their dormitory, and with all of their roommates gone, they could talk privately for the first time since Rose's unfortunate comments. Scorpius had been dreading it since they had parted ways with Rose on the fifth floor.

"She knew what she was saying. I know she did, and she didn't care how it would make you feel."

"Of course she didn't," Scorpius said bitterly, not looking Albus in the eye as he settled onto his bed, crossing his legs in front of himself. "She doesn't care about me. Never has, and probably never will. Who can blame her though? My great-aunt tortured her mum; my dad insulted both her parents at school. She should hate my family."

"That's not a fair comparison," Albus ground out in frustration, tugging on the ends of his hair. He paced in a circle around the centre of the room, passing each of the beds.

"Bellatrix Lestrange was Teddy's great-aunt too, you know? Teddy Lupin?" Albus said. "And Teddy is family. Rose would never hold such a thing against him. Sure, Teddy never knew Bellatrix, but neither did you. And yes, you were raised a Malfoy while Teddy was raised by Andromeda, but Rose still knows that there are things that trump blood and that stuff like that isn't what you judge other people for. Your grandmother saved my dad during the war. Rose knows that too. If it weren't for Narcissa, Dad would be dead, Scorpius. Rose can't forget that."

"But she can," Scorpius said. "People always remember the stuff that hurts longer than the stuff that helped them or made them feel good. That time last week when Shannon talked to me and was nice isn't going to stick around in my memory nearly as long as when Ethan taunted me last week. It's just not."

If it had been difficult to look at Albus before, now it was impossible. Albus was watching him with too much sympathy, Scorpius knew it without looking for himself. Albus reached out a hand to touch his friend, but he drew back, feeling unsure of himself. They'd never had physical contact, and considering Scorpius' upbringing, Albus wasn't sure if it would be welcome. So he dropped his hand and watched his friend hunch in on himself instead.

"Maybe you're right," Albus said, sounding regretful. "But Rose will come around. I know she will. She's a good person, and she'll realize that you're a good person too."

Scorpius shrugged, picking at a thread that hung from his comforter as he did so.

"Maybe she will, maybe she won't. She never really talks to me, so how can she learn much of anything? I'm only around her when you're there too, and you're the only one she talks to. Even if she directs a comment at me, we don't have conversations. Rose doesn't want to. Kind of hard to get to know someone you won't speak to."

Albus looked at Scorpius thoughtfully. He hadn't thought of that. Whenever they spent time with Rose, Albus worried about what she would say to Scorpius. Because of that, he realized that he might have actually been discouraging Rose from talking to Scorpius. It might not have been all her, and he felt terrible for it. Scorpius was right. How did Albus expect them to become friends when they merely occupied the same general space sometimes? He should be encouraging them to talk to each other far more than he had been.

"She will warm up to you," Albus said, not feeling brave enough to confess to his own part in the problem. He had a feeling Scorpius had already realized it anyway. He hoped Scorpius also realized that he hadn't been doing it on purpose. "With Rose, it takes some time, but she's not thick enough to think so poorly of you forever."

Scorpius shrugged again, still not looking at Albus.

Albus felt his heart break, and he vowed to do better. If only he knew what that entailed.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you once again to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 6

The whispers that often followed Albus and Scorpius through the halls of Hogwarts noticeably shifted one day in late November. It took several days for Albus to realize that the whispers felt different because they held the energy of new information. This was no longer gossip about him being sorted into Slytherin. Something else had happened.

"How are you doing, little brother?"

Albus glared up at James. The only times his brother stopped by the Slytherin table were to recount some stupid thing he had heard other students say about Albus. James always thought these comments were hilarious, and he delivered them as if Albus would think so too.

"Better before you were here," Albus shot back, glaring as James dropped down on the bench across from him.

He always did this when he confronted Albus at meal times, and the other Slytherins were becoming increasingly agitated about the Gryffindor guest. Like with many other things, James appeared to hold no awareness of the frustrations he created, but unlike with other things, Albus knew that James was aware of what he was doing. He revelled in frustrating Slytherins, especially his younger brother.

James laughed at Albus' attempt at insulting him. He nicked a piece of toast from the platter in front of him, earning glares from those sitting closest to them. For once, James didn't ignore them.

"What?" he asked the Slytherin boy who the closest on his right. "It's not like you own the toast. The house elves made it the same as the rest of the toast in the Great Hall." He bit into the slice, but it didn't stop him from continuing. "See. Tastes the same as it does at the Gryffindor table."

The Slytherin boy scowled and threw a glare at Albus and Scorpius before turning away from them. Scorpius sighed as Albus glowered at his brother. He was already being ostracized by Slytherin House. He didn't need James making it worse.

"What?" James asked, this time in response to Albus' glares. "I think you Slytherins need to lighten up, Al. Toast is toast. It's not that big of a deal."

"It's not the toast," Albus muttered under his breath.

James must have heard Albus' words as he smirked, causing Albus to shrink in his seat. James was wearing the same expression he always wore before something bad happened.

"I did come over here for a reason," James said. "And it wasn't for the toast."

"What's your reason, James?" Albus asked. "Tell me, so you can leave. Classes start soon."

James waved off the reminder as if being tardy was of no consequence to him. Considering some of the letters home from McGonagall the previous year, it wasn't.

"There have been some interesting rumours working their way through the castle lately."

Albus and Scorpius glanced at each other warily.

"And?" Albus asked his brother.

James sighed, not satisfied with his brother's response, and rolled his eyes.

"I don't mean like the usual talk," he said. "I wouldn't have come over here for that. It's old news. No, I mean the new things people are saying. The stuff that actually matters."

"Just tell me what they're saying, James, so you can leave."

"Some kids were approached by the _Prophet_. See, the paper wanted to run an extensive story about Harry Potter's son who somehow managed to find himself in Slytherin, a story that would include in depth interviews with students who could provide first-hand accounts. Apparently, people were lining up to talk, but then the plug was pulled on the story. They're all very disappointed about it."

"Mum," Albus stated simply, though sadness coloured his voice.

"Course it was Mum," James said with a roll of his eyes. "Who else at the _Prophet_ would have cared enough to stop the story? I think it may be the last straw, to be honest. Wouldn't be surprised if Mum quits in anger. She already had to stop them from printing an article about your Sorting before." James shrugged, standing up from the Slytherin table and taking his half eaten piece of toast with him. "Oh well, I suppose. It's not going to be printed, so who cares?"

With that, he ambled off in the direction of his friends at the Gryffindor table. Albus watched him go with a frown on his face. James, who wasn't the target for this article, might have been able to shrug it off, but Albus couldn't. This was the second time his mum had needed to step in. Who was to say there wouldn't be a third time when they'd successfully conceal the story from her until it was in the paper? That, for sure, would signal the end of Ginny Potter's career at the _Daily Prophet_. The newspaper had to know that, and it was the one thing that made Albus hopeful that there wouldn't be such an article.

"Albus?" Scorpius said gently.

Albus looked over at his best friend and shifted uneasily at the soft look in Scorpius' eyes. Somehow, Scorpius didn't look at him with pity, just worry, and Albus thought that was remarkable in and of itself. He wasn't sure when he'd begun to be able to tell the difference.

"I'm fine," Albus remarked, though he had been affected by what James had revealed. How could he not be? He was eleven years old, and the entire wizarding world, adults included, wanted to gossip about him and speculate about his future. He could guarantee that part of that article had included speculation that he would fall into the Dark Arts. It must have, and the majority of the British wizarding public would have read it had it gone to print.

"You're not fine," Scorpius remarked. "You can't be fine when a useless newspaper wants to spread lies about you."

"'Useless'," Albus repeated with a grin. "The _Prophet_ has been the number one wizarding paper in Britain for...centuries I'd guess."

"Doesn't make it any less useless. They're always prone to gossip in their pages. There are better papers out there if anyone would bother to read them, but they'll never sell as many copies as the _Prophet_."

Albus sighed. He knew all about the dark side of the _Prophet_. His mum complained about it frequently despite being an employee of the paper. She kept gossip about Quidditch players' lives firmly out of the sports section, and that decision had earned Ginny her fair share of antagonists at the paper. But she was Ginny Potter, past star player for the Holyhead Harpies and current wife of Harry Potter; she could do what she wanted without the risk of being fired.

The food began to disappear from the tables, signalling the end of breakfast and the time the students needed to begin hurrying if they wanted to make it to their first lesson on time. Albus sighed, feeling more like going back to his dormitory to mope than being around others.

Scorpius watched his best friend closely, able to imagine what he was thinking and what he wanted in that moment.

"Sawtell really loves you," Scorpius pointed out, "and we've got Potions first thing. Maybe you could convince her to let you skip."

"Nah," Albus replied, though the suggestion was tempting. "I'd disappoint her if I did that. Maybe she knows about the rumours, maybe she doesn't. Either way, skipping potions is a great way to start getting on her bad side. I'm better off sitting through it." He looked up and saw Scorpius' sceptical gaze. "Really," he stressed. "I'll be better off than I would be moping about. That would make me feel worse in the long run."

Scorpius, quite a fan of moping himself, wasn't as sure. He thought a nice lie down for, perhaps, the entire day would do Albus some good. There were some days where you just had to avoid people in Scorpius' opinion, and Hogwarts didn't make that easy. Skipping classes was just about the only way you could manage it.

There had been several times over the school year so far that Scorpius had longed to be alone, but he'd been too scared to attempt skipping class, no matter how painful it had felt to sit through the lectures.

"Are you sure?" he asked Albus, not confident that Albus meant what he said.

Albus offered him a grin, but it didn't reach his eyes. Scorpius wasn't sure if that meant he was lying or if it was instead a hint at the sadness that hadn't yet disappeared from hearing about the rumours.

"I'm sure," Albus said. "Thank you for caring though, Scorpius. It means a lot. Honestly, I think I'm better off being in class mostly because it means being with you instead of being alone. That'll make me feel better than anything else."

Scorpius' heart stuttered in his chest, and in the moment after Albus made the comment, Scorpius was incapable of controlling his expression. Then he realized that he looked like a gaping fish, and he snapped his mouth shut, turning a bright shade of red.

Albus had said a lot of things to him before that Scorpius had never believed he would hear from anyone. This was another one to add to that list.

XXX

Albus may have assured Scorpius that he felt fine and that going to class would help him more than hurt him, but Scorpius remained unsure. He just couldn't see how putting yourself through class, through the company of others—including Gryffindors—could help someone when they were already upset.

They went from class to class, Scorpius monitoring Albus the entire time. Albus would glance at him every so often, finding Scorpius' gaze already on him. Each time, he would offer Scorpius a small smile and a nod of the head, a silent reassurance that he was doing fine. It didn't make Scorpius monitor him any less closely, and for some reason, Albus wasn't bothered by the show of concern as long as Scorpius wasn't asking that dreaded question. If it was only the worried looks, Albus could handle it.

Two of their classes on that particular day were with the Gryffindors. Scorpius watched the other students in those classrooms, not wanting them to say or do anything that might further upset his friend. He even tried his hand at glaring when some students clad in red and gold kept their gazes on Albus for too long. No one said anything, but Scorpius wasn't going to give them any chances to try.

Albus was either oblivious to it or pretending to be. He didn't comment on Scorpius' sudden attempts at pretending he had a backbone. Truthfully, Scorpius wasn't sure what he would do if his glares weren't convincing enough—he doubted they were—and a student tried to confront Albus. He wasn't sure he'd do anything. He wasn't sure that he _could_ do anything.

Rose found them after Charms. She was the only Gryffindor who had been able to glance at Albus multiple times without a glare from Scorpius, and when she approached, it was with caution.

"You've heard the rumours then?" Albus asked her as the three first years headed down the corridor together, Albus between his cousin and best friend.

"Course I have," Rose replied matter-of-factly. "The entire school knows. _The Daily Prophet_ really is a despicable paper. The only reason anyone in the family buys it is because of Aunt Ginny's column. I know she only reports on Quidditch, but her writing is the only real journalism that paper does. Everyone knows that—well, everyone remotely intelligent at least."

Albus rolled his eyes and replied, "Thanks, Rose."

She nodded, though she could see that she hadn't succeeded in convincing him of anything.

"I saw James go talk to you during breakfast," she continued. Scorpius noticed how Albus' expression darkened at the mention of his brother, but Rose was oblivious. "He didn't make too many jokes about it, did he?"

"Rose, we're talking about James," Albus said bitterly. "The _only_ thing he did was make jokes about it."

"Right," Rose said sadly. "I did figure, but I keep wondering if he'll manage to be serious about something one of these days."

Albus shook his head. "As far as James is concerned, my sorting is one large joke that he gets to milk for all its worth. He's not going to get tired of it for another year at least. It doesn't matter if the newspapers start calling me the Forsaken Son of the Boy-Who-Lived. It's all hilarious to James, Merlin."

Albus' voice had risen as he spoke until he was nearly shouting, and several girls walking by giggled, covering their mouths but not doing a good job of hiding their reactions. A few other students watched them from the corner of their eyes as they began whispering to each other.

"So discreet," Albus muttered angrily, though he tried to keep his face as emotionless as possible. "Sometimes, I'd like to stand in front of the Great Hall and inform everyone that I am not the next Dark Lord, or whatever the hell they think, just because I was sorted into Slytherin."

"I don't think anyone thinks you're the next Dark Lord," she said a dismissive wave of her hand.

Albus gave Rose a look that showed that he didn't believe her. She had heard that exact rumour as much as he had.

"Well," Rose allowed, "some of the more stupid ones might."

"Rose," Albus replied, struggling to remain calm, "can you stop trying to reassure me that it's only the stupid people? Because, if that's true, then we have an entire generation of witches and wizards that are doomed to be idiots. At least three-quarters of this school has taken the opportunity to whisper those exact rumours to their friends. I know that's not an exaggeration."

Rose shrugged, and Albus had the distinct impression that she was resisting the urge to comment about how she often felt that three-quarters of the school really were idiots.

"None of this is why I wanted to talk to you anyway," she said, dismissing their previous conversation with a wave of her hand. "I wanted to talk to you about the Room."

"Rose." Albus sighed. "We've searched every corridor twice with no success."

"I know, I know. I'm not coming to tell you that I want to search again. For now, the Room of Requirement will remain a mystery. We'll find it eventually. No, I was thinking that we shift our exploration to something else."

Her smile was devilish. Albus and Scorpius felt shivers of dread run down their spines.

"What are you suggesting?" Albus asked.

Rose's smile somehow managed to widen further.

"The Shrieking Shack," she said with an abundance of satisfaction.

"The Shrieking Shack," Albus and Scorpius repeated in unison, Scorpius' voice higher pitched than Albus' though Albus couldn't say the idea was entirely without fear for him.

"We'd have to get past the Whomping Willow," Albus pointed out. "And we'd have to do it at night to avoid getting caught."

"C'mon, Al," Rose chided. "Think about our families. You're saying we couldn't successfully sneak around the castle at night?"

Albus shrugged. Truthfully, he didn't think they could, but it was clear that Rose wouldn't take such doubts seriously.

"We don't have an invisibility cloak or the Map," Albus pointed out, but it did nothing to quell Rose's smile.

"We don't need a cloak or a map."

Scorpius had been shrinking further into himself as he watched their exchange. He didn't want to sneak around. Roaming the castle during daylight to look for the Room of Requirement was one thing; approaching the Whomping WIllow after curfew and trying to get past it was something else entirely. But he didn't want to say anything.

"Without the Cloak or Map, how are we ever going to get onto the grounds without being spotted? We don't even know where the right knot in the tree roots are to get in the Whomping Willow."

"An easy problem to solve," Rose countered.

It was quiet for a few moments as Rose and Albus each attempted to stare the other down.

"Albus, you're a Potter," Rose said. "You can't tell me that you're going to spend seven years at Hogwarts without sneaking around the castle after dark."

Albus stood frozen for a long time before he answered Rose's words.

"Yes, I am telling you that."

With that, Albus spun on his heels and hurried down the corridor, leaving both Rose and Scorpius in his wake. Scorpius felt immense relief knowing that he wouldn't have to go traipsing down to the Whomping Willow that night, which caused his posture to straighten, but then he caught sight of Rose's face. She was glaring at him as if what had happened had been his fault, and Scorpius hunched over again, averting his eyes towards the ground.

He wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground or flee. He wasn't sure which was more appealing, but both felt impossible. For some reason, Rose's gaze held him there, and he finally chanced a glance up at her, trying to appear as sheepish and remorseful as possible—despite not thinking that what had happened had anything to do with him.

Rose continued to glare, and Scorpius' desire to flee won out. He turned on his heels much like Albus had and hurried off in the direction of the Slytherin common room, a place Rose would never dare set foot in but where Scorpius knew that he was guaranteed to find Albus.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 7

Something changed in Rose over the next week. In a span of days, she grew...softer, almost. That was the only way Scorpius could think of describing it.

After two days of silence, she appeared at the table Albus and Scorpius had claimed at the library. She sat her bag down and smiled at both of them. Smiled. At Scorpius. There had been no glare, and for a moment, Scorpius had wondered whether or not he was in a dream. Rose being kind to him was too far from the realm of reality to be, well, reality, but sure enough, Scorpius was able to assert that he was, in fact, awake.

Albus was able to pick up on subtle cues that Scorpius was oblivious to. Albus saw the tension in Rose's shoulders that hinted at discomfort. Albus saw the tightness in the way she smiled. Albus noticed the quiver in her voice when she greeted Scorpius with faux kindness.

He wasn't fooled. Rose didn't change her mind about anything or anyone abruptly. Especially when she had blamed Scorpius, at least in part, for the fight that had transpired between her and Albus only two days before. She wanted something.

"What's going on?" Albus asked cautiously, watching her as she unloaded her books from her bag.

Rose shrugged, not glancing up to make eye contact. "I need to study."

Albus and Scorpius watched her take out her potions book, flipping it open to the page on the potion they had made last class. She scribbled some things down on her parchment, presumably the essay that Sawtell had set as homework, and she didn't glance up at either of the boys as she set to work, still trying to keep that fake smile on her face.

"Rose," Albus said, forcing her to pull her attention away from the essay and to him. Her eyes flickered between Albus and Scorpius before they settled on Albus. "What are you really doing?" Albus asked. "Why are you sitting with us as if nothing happened when you haven't spoken to me in two days?"

He wasn't going to bring up her odd treatment of Scorpius. It was better not to goad her into admitting a continued hatred of the boy. Scorpius looked far too hopeful.

Rose sighed and set her quill down in a show of defeat.

"I guess I'm tired of fighting," she replied in a tone that hinted that she wasn't telling the entire truth. "With both of you," she added, glancing at Scorpius.

Scorpius fidgeted in his seat.

"What does that mean?" Albus asked. "That we're going to pretend like the fight never happened but keep things as terrible as they were before?"

"Terrible?" Rose asked, voice rising dangerously high considering that they were in the library. "What was terrible? Spending time with me?"

"No," Albus dismissed her comment. "Spending time with you when you're adamant that I should have been a Gryffindor. Spending time with you when you won't accept that I got sorted into Slytherin."

Rose rolled her eyes, dismissing Albus' fears as unfounded.

"I've accepted that you're a Slytherin," she said, though it didn't convince Albus of such. "You've always been different, Al."

"Different than what?"

Rose didn't have an answer to satisfy her cousin. She shrugged. "I don't know how to describe it, but you know what I mean. Maybe it was the Slytherin thing. I don't know, but you've never been like the rest of our family."

Albus' brow was furrowed as he stared at Rose. Scorpius and Rose both watched him—Scorpius with a face full of worry; Rose with a dismissive, uncaring expression.

The thing was, Albus and Rose's family was large. The Weasleys and Potters filled the Burrow to more than bursting when they got together. When you threw in the fact that Teddy Lupin and Andromeda Tonks and Hagrid and the Scamanders and the Longbottoms were all essentially family as well… Well, Albus and Rose's family was gigantic. It was diverse. It included members of all four Hogwarts Houses, though Albus often wondered if anyone remembered that Andromeda had been a Slytherin.

How was Albus the lone outsider within that many people? It shouldn't have been possible. He'd spent his entire childhood wishing it wasn't possible, but he'd always known, on some level, that he was.

Even so, no one had dared to say as much to him. His worries had stayed locked away inside of himself. Until now.

"Rose," Albus said, voice dangerously low and shaking with emotion, "I don't need you to point out all of my flaws. I'd rather you leave me alone."

Rose didn't look like she understood what it was that she had done wrong. She leaned back in her chair as if Albus' words had forcefully pushed her, and she stared at him, a confused crease in her brow.

"I'm not trying to hurt you," she said. "I'm just stating facts, Al. I don't understand why you get so worked up when I do."

"Why don't we talk about something else?"

Albus froze, mouth half open as he'd been preparing to say something else. Rose and Albus turned towards Scorpius, surprised at his sudden words. Scorpius was surprised too, staring back at them with wide eyes.

Albus watched his friend, now more concerned that Scorpius was upset. Any opportunity to forget about his own problems was quickly taken. Rose shrugged the previous tension off and took Scorpius' words as an excuse to change the subject.

"Like I said, this isn't what I came here for," she said. "I really did want to make amends. There was no secret plan."

She was genuine. Albus inspected her demeanor for signs of a lie, but he couldn't find any. He nodded, and Rose's face broke into a smile, her eyes shining with happiness.

"Okay," Albus replied. "I forgive you, but Merlin, Rose, please can we stop arguing over things that neither of us can change?"

For a second, Rose looked like she might argue, like she might defend herself by saying that Albus was always the one who turned their disagreements into fights. But she didn't. She held her breath for a moment as she struggled to keep her thoughts to herself. With a short nod, she turned back to her potions essay, beginning to scribble across the parchment with the speed of someone who already knew what they wanted to write down.

Scorpius watched Albus, knowing that his friend wasn't as okay with it as he had said he was, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do in order to make him feel better.

XXX

A handful of days passed, and Rose was at their side for almost all of them. In the classes they had together, she sat beside them. They studied in the library together. They even walked the corridors together when there were crowds of students.

During these times, Rose began to actually speak to Scorpius. Not about anything significant, but they had far more conversations than they'd had in the past and more than Scorpius had come to believe they ever would. She was still hesitant around him, still had to fake her smile, but it was more of an effort than she had previously made. Though Albus knew that it was for his sake and that any fondness for Scorpius of her own had yet to develop, he hoped that it would in time.

"You know," Rose said one evening as the sat on the shore of the lake. The weather was beginning to grow colder, so many of the students were soaking up what they could of the remaining decent weather before winter kicked in. "There's still something we haven't done."

There was a mischievous glint in her eyes that filled Albus with dread and Scorpius with terror.

"I already told you that I'm not going to start sneaking around after hours. The Shrieking Shack isn't worth that," Albus stated flatly. "I'd like the next seven years to be free from detentions."

"That's why we don't get caught." Rose smirked, looking like she'd already won the argument.

Scorpius slid down the trunk of the tree he'd been leaning against as Albus began to waver.

"Come on, Al," Rose continued. "You're a Potter. Sneaking around is in your blood."

Albus' cheeks took on a red tint, and Scorpius began fiddling with the sleeve of his robes, knowing that Albus was already a goner. Albus knew it too. Rose's words from several days ago echoed in his head, unwilling to leave him alone. They'd bothered him since they had come out of her mouth, and it didn't seem like they were going to leave until he did something about them.

"I am," he said with a reluctant sigh. There was a moment of silence and then, "I'll go to the Shrieking Shack with you tonight."

If Scorpius slid further down the trunk of the tree, he'd be lying on the grass. Maybe he could will himself to sleep and not have to face the fact that he was going to be dragged along on an adventure he wanted no part in.

Except he wasn't going to be dragged, and he did want a part in it. No one would force him to go, but Scorpius couldn't bear the thought of letting Rose and Albus go without him. He couldn't turn down an opportunity to spend time with Albus, even if it was an opportunity that left him feeling paralyzed with fear.

XXX

"You really don't have to come, Scorpius."

Albus voice was gentle as he watched Scorpius carefully. He hadn't been oblivious to the way the other boy had reacted to the idea of visiting the Shrieking Shack.

"No, no, I want to come," Scorpius insisted, not for the first time. "I mean, the Shrieking Shack. Seeing that place would be cool. Lots of stuff happened there. Like...werewolf transformations and Snape's death. Didn't Lupin and Black try to kill Pettigrew in there too? That's...a place to see. How could I miss it?"

There was a moment where neither boy said anything. They looked at each other, both acknowledging how little either one of them wanted to go through with this while knowing full well that both of them would and that they would go together.

Taking a deep breath, Albus turned away from his friend, breaking their eye contact and grabbing his bag from the bed. He wasn't sure why he'd felt the need to pack, but the semblance of being prepared left him feeling better than he would have otherwise.

"What took you two so long?" Rose demanded in a whisper as they met in an alcove off of the entrance hall, trying to hide in the shadows. None of them were sure how successful they were being.

"Sorry," Albus said, not sounding sorry at all. "We were preparing."

Rose's eyes caught the bags slung around their shoulders for the first time, and she scoffed, causing Scorpius to shift uncomfortably on his feet.

"We're supposed to be having an adventure," Rose reminded them. "Not packing up for your run of the mill camping trip."

Albus shrugged as Scorpius positioned himself so that he was hiding behind Albus. He tended to do that during any moment where he thought that Rose's anger might switch directions towards him. Albus moved too, placing himself in front of Scorpius in an attempt to bring the other boy comfort.

With a roll of her eyes, Rose stuck her head out from the alcove and scanned the entrance hall.

"There's no one around," she said. "Let's go."

Taking a deep breath, Albus followed her. It took several steps for him to realize that Scorpius was still frozen, standing in the alcove. Albus stopped and turned around to look at his friend, wishing he could better see his expression in the dark.

"Scor, you okay?"

It was the first time he'd used that nickname, and even in the dark, he could see that its use had startled Scorpius. However, it might have been the only reason why the boy sounded like he was smiling when he responded.

"Yeah, I'll be okay," he said. "Just a little nervous."

Albus offered him a smile that he hoped he could see in the dark. Then, he reached out to grab Scorpius' hand. Scorpius twitched at the contact. Albus knew that Scorpius wasn't used to casual physical contact of any kind, that it typically made him uncomfortable. He watched the boy for signs that he should pull away, but Scorpius steadfastly tightened his grip around Albus' palm, locking their hands together.

He offered Albus a blinding smile, even in the dark, and Albus felt himself beaming back. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to find their midnight excursion scary anymore.

"What the hell are you two doing?"

Rose's venomous whispers broke the boys out of whatever trance they had fallen in. She had reappeared in the entrance to the alcove, looking peeved that they hadn't followed like they were supposed to.

"I had the front doors open before I realized neither one of you was behind me," she said. "That's the riskiest part of this entire thing, and now we have to do it twice."

"Riskier than getting past the tree that will want to kill us?" Scorpius asked, a giddiness to his voice now that his hand was in Albus'.

Rose was oblivious that the two boys were holding hands. Maybe she didn't find it noteworthy or maybe she was too concerned with getting to the Whomping Willow. Either way, she offered them another roll of her eyes and turned to leave the alcove.

"Follow this time," she demanded.

And they did, hurrying through the entrance hall before someone could discover them. Rose tugged the doors to the castle open just far enough for the three of them to squeeze through, but even then, it was a tight fit, causing them each to have to squirm before they broke free.

The October night air was chilly, causing the three of them to tug their cloaks closer to their bodies. Rose rubbed her gloveless hands together as she led their procession to the area of the grounds where the Whomping Willow resided. None of them had been here often. Scorpius and Albus had seen the Whomping Willow three times since September 1st, and each time, it had been from a distance. Few students ventured nearer to the tree than they had to. Not just because of what the tree might do to them but also because of the reputation it had held since the war.

The fact that the Shrieking Shack had acted as one of Voldemort's hideouts in the Battle of Hogwarts. The fact that Severus Snape had died in that building. That had all become the stuff of history books.

The knowledge of how to freeze the Whomping Willow and get through its roots still wasn't common knowledge, but everyone knew there was a way to do it. Everyone knew that a passageway resided under the tree that would lead right to the terrifying place. Few wanted anything to do with it.

Except Rose who was marching towards the tree at an astonishing pace, forcing Albus and Scorpius to hurry in her wake. The boys still gripped each other's hands, and Scorpius was thankful for it. He wasn't sure he could have made the trip across the grounds without having such concrete reassurance that Albus was right beside him. He felt consumed by fear. Not once in his short life had he desired to visit such a loathed wizarding landmark, let alone wanted to do it in the dead of night when it could lead to him being expelled.

Rose was less worried about such an outcome, her mum being Minister for Magic and all. Scorpius was a member of the disgraced Malfoy family. He found himself living in constant fear that the slightest slip up would lead to Professor McGonagall throwing him back onto his parents' doorstep.

The Whomping Willow was quiet as they approached it, not yet having sensed their presence. Rose paused outside of the tree's range, watching it. The two boys froze behind her, also captivated by what looked like nothing more than a large tree. Without knowing the truth, it looked harmless. Its many roots that protruded from the ground might have been appealing to climb on for a small child.

When you knew the truth, that appeal fell apart fast.

"So," Albus whispered, despite them being out of the castle and unlikely to be overheard, "how are we going to figure out which knot it is?"

Rose didn't respond to the question as she was already searching for a stick long enough to reach the tree's roots. The Whomping Willow must have lost a good deal of its branches while wheeling them around, or ripped branches from other trees, as the ground around them was littered with more than its fair share.

The stick that Rose chose was by far long enough to reach for the tree's roots without the kids getting in range of its swing. Rose didn't bother to consult with Albus or Scorpius as she stuck the stick out towards the tree. As soon as it was in range, the tree started swinging wildly, making Albus and Scorpius step back instinctively to an even safer distance.

Rose gripped the stick with two hands instead of one, knuckles turning white, and continued to poke at the tree's roots. She poked everywhere with abandon, hoping to find the right root on accident rather than having a strategic plan.

All three children held their breath until Rose happened to hit the correct knot, one that, in retrospect, seemed to obviously be the correct one. The tree's swinging calmed instantly, branches drooping into a position that was normal for a willow tree.

Dropping the branch, Rose hurried forward without glancing at the boys. Albus shot after her, eager to slide under the tree before the effects wore off. With their hands still locked, Scorpius had little choice but to follow, cringing as they entered the tree's range and refusing to glance up at the calm branches.

They slid ungracefully into the passageway under the entrance, Scorpius ramming into Albus' back and apologizing profusely even after Albus had declared that it was okay. Rose paid little attention to the boys who were taking too much time behind her. She began making her way down the passage with a skip in her step that felt out of place in the damp darkness.

The lack of light didn't make either boy feel better. Scorpius continued to grip Albus' hand tightly, and Albus refused to let go, sensing that Scorpius needed the support.

Despite the narrowness of the passageway, the two boys did their best to continue holding hands, walking side by side when it was possible. The passageway was colder than the air outside had been, and Scorpius kept himself as close to Albus' side as possible under the pretense that he needed the body heat.

The walk felt long, but eventually, they began to see the low light that hinted that they were near the end. Rose began hurrying once more, excited to reach the infamous building.

A square of wood laid across the opening, placed there in a haphazard way that didn't entirely block the passageway from the Shack itself. Rose pushed the wood away, making more noise than the house had heard in years. She pulled herself up and then reached down to pull Albus up. Albus, in turn, pulled Scorpius.

The blond boy began sneezing once he was in the house. Taking in the amount of dust already on his robes, he tried to dust it off with one hand, while covering his mouth with the other, but he only began to sneeze harder.

"This place is really dirty," Albus commented, watching Scorpius out of the corner of his eye even as he kept up the pretense of inspecting the house.

Rose disappeared down the hallway without a word, causing Albus to curse under his breath.

"Come on, Scorpius," Albus urged.

He reached out to touch Scorpius' arm and led him after Rose as the boy struggled to get his sneezing under control. It had just calmed down as they encountered Rose in a room at the very end of the downstairs hallway of the house.

"What are you looking for?" Albus asked.

The entire house was bare. It had never been expected that anyone would live here, and it showed in the decorating. They'd walked the length of the downstairs hallway, and not one room had been a kitchen. There'd hardly been any furniture in sight.

"Nothing in particular," Rose said. "I'm just looking around."

Albus looked at her sceptically. "If you're planning on this place turning over some grand, unknown secret, I think you're out of luck. This place has been sitting here abandoned since they took Snape's body away. I highly doubt anyone's seen the inside since."

"Why would they want to?" Scorpius whispered loud enough for only Albus to hear.

Albus bit back a grin as he continued to watch Rose for signs of disappointment. He wasn't sure what she would make them do if this house didn't turn up whatever it was she'd come looking for inside of it, though he had a feeling that she wasn't looking for anything material.

Rose ran a finger along a bookshelf, the lone piece of furniture in the room and one that stood barren.

"This place really is run down," she commented to herself. "I know it was built to be that way, but I guess the years haven't been kind to it either."

"Wasn't the Shack built around forty years ago?" Scorpius asked, earning a nod from Rose. "Nothing can sit for that long without upkeep and not fall apart."

Rose offered a slight nod again as she trailed out of the room and back to where they had first entered.

She pulled her wand out and began blowing the dust away from a small area.

"Don't bother," Albus said, tugging the bag off of his shoulders.

He pulled a blanket out of its depths and smirked as he held it up, revelling in Rose's unamused frown and crossed arms.

"And you mocked us for being prepared," Albus quipped, spreading the blanket out in the centre of the room, right next to the entrance. "Look how handy it became."

"I never said it wouldn't be handy," Rose said, sitting down on one corner of the blanket. She was as close to the edge as she could get as if that would help defend herself from her earlier insults. "Being prepared just makes it less of an adventure than it would be otherwise."

"You say that, but you're sitting on the blanket," Albus said in a sing-song voice. He looked amused for the first time since they'd left the Slytherin common room. Even Scorpius was smiling, feeling rather at ease considering their location. It was clear, by now, that no spirits haunted the Shrieking Shack, and whatever ghosts of the past hung on here, none disturbed them.

They also hadn't been caught by a professor on their way here, and neither Scorpius nor Albus had believed that would happen before they'd set off.

"I really do wish we had the Map," Rose said, leaning back on her hands which rested in the dust. "It would make sneaking around so much easier."

"What happened to being prepared making things less fun?" Albus asked, sounding genuinely curious instead of mocking. "Wouldn't having the Map make it less exciting too?"

"Um." Scorpius cleared his throat, hesitating. "I've been meaning to ask. Because I'm very confused… What map are we talking about?"

He knew they'd mentioned it before, but the moment had been emotionally charged and he hadn't wanted to bring it up with Albus later. Not when it seemed like such a touchy subject.

Rose began laughing, going so far as throwing her head back. Scorpius blushed a bright red, and Albus glared at his cousin. He turned to Scorpius with an apologetic look.

"Sorry," Albus said. "I didn't think about explaining it. Sometimes I forget there are actually things people don't know about my family."

Scorpius nodded. Even he might have assumed that he knew most of Harry Potter's story before he'd met Albus.

"We're talking about the Marauder's Map," Rose interjected. "The one Uncle Harry used to own."

Scorpius ignored the way she spoke as if this should have been blatantly obvious to him already. Instead, he looked at Albus, for once ignoring Rose when he normally tried to placate her.

"But what does this map do?"

Albus grinned, hinting at an enthusiasm that he hadn't yet shown for the Map.

"The Marauder's Map shows Hogwarts," Albus explained. "All of it. Every nook and cranny. Every secret passageway. It's not just that though. It shows the people. If we had the Map, we'd know everyone's movements at all times."

Scorpius stared at Albus with wonder in his eyes.

"That sounds perfect for sneaking around. You'd never be caught."

Albus and Rose both nodded, Rose vigorously.

"That's what it was made for," Rose said, leaning forward in her eagerness to share this information with Scorpius. "Sneaking around. The Marauders made it."

It was again Albus whom Scorpius directed his confused gaze toward, and again, Albus smiled at him, this time sheepishly as it fell on him to explain the Marauders.

"That was my grandfather—James Potter, I mean—and his three best friends at Hogwarts. They called themselves the Marauders. They made the Map."

"Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew," Scorpius rambled off, startling Albus. Scorpius shrugged in response. "Everyone knows their names," he said. "They're in the history books. Pettigrew's the reason your grandparents are dead. He's the reason your dad became the Boy Who Lived when he was a baby. Black never would have gone to Azkaban if it weren't for him."

"Right," Albus said with a nod.

Often, when discussing these things, Albus thought that he ought to feel emotional. Surely, it would be normal for some part of him to clench at the thought of the betrayal of his grandparents by one of their best friends or how his brother's namesake had spent twelve years in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit.

Instead, the events felt distant, something from the ancient past. His parents had known these people, yes, but Albus hadn't. They'd been dead long before he was born, and that made it all but impossible for him to conjure the sympathy that he should have felt. It left him feeling heartless, but lying to himself and claiming that he was sad was more than he could accomplish.

"Now that you've told me," Scorpius said, "I feel like I shouldn't be surprised that they made such a map. There's enough in the history books to get a good idea of their reputation at Hogwarts. If anyone were to make such a map, it would be them."

"Of course it would," Rose said, sounding satisfied with herself as if she'd had something to do with the Map's creation. "It's a shame few people will ever know about the Map. If they did, the Marauders would be in the history books for more reasons than just the wars."

It was quiet for a moment as Rose's words rang in their ears.

"I've been thinking about a lot of things recently," Rose said, breaking the silence. "Mostly about the world and the way things have changed since the war."

Albus scowled at her. "Why have you been thinking about that?"

Albus didn't like talking about the most recent wars. His father had been at the centre of both, and anytime they were brought up, Harry Potter was sure to be too. Albus tried to steer clear of such conversations.

Rose shrugged, but it was less than a minute before she caved and explained further, not often able to help herself when given the opportunity to share information.

"It all began because of some of the things you said to me about being a Slytherin, Al. I started thinking about how things are between Slytherin and the other Houses, especially Gryffindor. How things have always been and why."

"What does that have to do with the war?" Albus questioned. "I know Voldemort was a Slytherin. Most of the Death Eaters were Slytherins. But why did that lead you to thinking about the war?"

"Because, Albus Potter, whether you like talking about it or not, the war changed everything. It created the world we're living in. That's what Mum says every time I talk about it with her."

"Your mum talks about the war with you?" Scorpius asked in shock.

"Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron have always been way more open about it than my parents have been," Albus explained on Rose's behalf. "Not everything, I don't think. There's still stuff they probably hide, but they at least talk about it in the abstract. My mum and dad don't. Dad especially never wants to talk about the war."

"Which makes sense," Rose said, "but it's also why you're so awkward whenever the war's brought up. You've got to get over it. You know as well as I do that we'll be studying it in History of Magic, and you'll have to be over talking about it with the other students by then."

Albus cringed. It was true that he dreaded the day when he was sitting in class and his father was discussed. But History of Magic was studied in chronological order through all seven years. He wouldn't have to worry about such things until seventh year.

"My point is," Rose continued, making it clear that she blamed them for getting her off track, "we've been given a world that was changed, and we're the ones who have to make sure that it continues to change."

Albus and Scorpius just looked at her.

"You sound like Aunt Hermione," Albus stated. It was clear that such a thing put him off and wasn't a compliment. Albus didn't have much of a problem with Hermione's typical speeches, but the same words felt less genuine coming out of Rose's mouth.

"Maybe I do," Rose said. "She has told me this countless times, and I know she's right. I just never thought about it like this before?"

"Like what?" Scorpius was brave enough to ask.

Rose sighed at Scorpius' look of confusion.

"That Gryffindors and Slytherins should make more of an effort to be friends with each other."

Albus and Scorpius shared a look. Neither of them thought that Slytherins should share equal blame with Gryffindors for the state of relations between their houses. Yes, Slytherins could be nasty, but even after such a short time, both boys could see why Slytherins wouldn't make the effort to befriend other Houses. It was hard when the rest of the school ostracized you. Where were the Slytherins meant to start?

Neither of them asked Rose. She'd only just warmed up to the idea of befriending Slytherins at all, and making her think such things was a surefire way to set her back.

"That's great." The false enthusiasm in Albus' voice was clear, but Rose was too lost in her fantasies to register it.

"It could be," she said. "And we could help make it happen."

"Could we?" Albus asked. This time Rose managed to catch the scepticism. "Scorpius and I aren't the most popular kids in school, Rose. We're not going to lead some trend. And you may be much better off than us, what with being a Granger-Weasley and a Gryffindor, but I'm not so sure anyone's going to be following your lead on this one."

Rose shook her head as if Albus' fears could be easily dismissed.

"It will be gradual," she said as if this invalidated Albus' words. "Real change doesn't happen overnight."

Albus wanted to snap at her, but he felt a hand on his knee that caused him to pause. He looked over at Scorpius, startled at the contact. Scorpius' hand felt warm through his robes, and Albus almost didn't notice the pained expression on Scorpius' face. When he did, his heart lurched, and he felt the anger that had been bubbling in his veins instantly cool.

All Scorpius did was offer a slight shake of his head. Rose was too preoccupied with watching Albus to notice the movement, but Albus knew what Scorpius was telling him.

So, he didn't snap at Rose, and he didn't tell her how idiotic she sounded. He bit his tongue and instead brought up Quidditch, knowing how to make Rose go on a tangent.

Two hours later, when they had made it back up to the castle, avoiding all professors with what must have been nothing but sheer luck, they departed from Rose and headed down to the Slytherin dungeons. There, the castle felt even darker at night, and when Albus asked his question, it was to a boy he couldn't see. He could, however, feel the hand gripped in his, a reassurance that they hadn't lost each other in the night.

"Why did you stop me?" Albus whispered. His heart stuttered as he did so, and he wasn't sure if it was in anticipation of Scorpius' answer or a fear of being heard by a professor.

He could feel Scorpius' shrug by the way his hand moved in his. It was a moment later before Scorpius was able to formulate his answer.

"She's making an effort," he whispered. "That's more than I thought we'd get from her, and she's your cousin. I know she's important to you. Over time, she'll get better, won't she?"

He'd felt confident until he said those last words. He realized that Albus knew Rose far better than he did, and he might not have the same impression that Scorpius did.

Albus sensed Scorpius' uncertainty, and paused for a moment before answering, not wanting to wound the boy because of a badly worded answer.

"She might," was the answer that he decided on. "I don't know. Most people would, but Rose sometimes gets stuck in her ways. Plus, she's pretty oblivious to what other people think. Her version of reality is the only version of reality."

It was quiet for a moment as they tried to navigate their way through the dungeons in the dark for the first time. Some turns would come earlier or later than either boy had remembered, causing them to cautiously move forward even if they hadn't been worried about being caught.

"I still don't like this," Scorpius whispered. Albus glanced at him, thrown off by the sudden change in topic, but he knew what Scorpius was referring to.

"I don't either," Albus said. "The sneaking around, worrying about getting caught. It's not worth it."

Scorpius shivered and tightened his grip on Albus' hand as he thought about that very fear that had sunken into his bones and felt like it was there to stay forever.

"What are the chances of Rose never asking us to sneak out again?" Scorpius asked.

"Zero to none," was Albus' reply, but he tried to offer Scorpius a reassuring smile. "But I'll turn her down next time. Don't worry."

Scorpius turned to smile at him, and it was bright enough that Albus didn't feel like he struggled to see it in the dark. For a brief moment, he struggled to come up with something to say next, but then the entrance to the Slytherin common room appeared, Scorpius was muttering the password, their hands broke apart, and neither boy said anything as they made their way up to their dormitory, basking in the relief of the safety it provided.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This might be the longest chapter of the story, something I didn't realize until about ten minutes ago. This chapter is also the first appearance for several of the Weasley cousins. Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 8

Several days of relative calm followed their midnight trek to the Shrieking Shack. Rose continued to place herself in their presence as often as she could. At mealtimes, she came by to say hello, though she had yet to brave the harassment that James had by sitting down at the table. She badgered them into going to the library with her, and she even trailed along with them to classes she wasn't in. All because she wanted as many people as possible to see them together.

It felt like a performance, which left Albus annoyed. Scorpius, however, took Rose's behaviour in stride, always agreeing to go to the library with her and trying with all of his might to keep up conversation with her as they walked down the corridors, even when Albus remained in a stony silence.

"She's not going to become my friend unless I talk to her," Scorpius had replied when Albus broached the topic with him. He'd tried to be gentle, not wanting to shatter Scorpius' dreams if he hadn't noticed the less than genuine intentions behind Rose's behaviour, but Scorpius had quickly shot that notion down. Of course he saw what she was doing, but getting angry at her would only make it worse.

So, as much as it annoyed Albus, Scorpius acted like nothing was strange, and Rose became the third member of their newly formed trio. Albus pretended like she didn't sometimes talk louder so people would notice who she was talking to.

The farce became routine in a few short days, and both boys were prepared for it to become normal, for it to be how they finished out their first year if not their entire Hogwarts education. They still weren't accepted by any members of the other Houses, but then, they hadn't expected to be.

What stung more was the rejection from their own House. Sure, no one in Slytherin made the effort to insult Albus while he walked around the castle like many Gryffindors did, but Albus and Scorpius were still treated like outcasts, with no one from Slytherin speaking to them unless necessary. Even then, it was in short sentences and without really looking at them.

They were getting used to it. At least they had each other and, kind of, Rose. It could have been worse, they thought.

As it turned out, they were right.

Whoever had had the courage to perform such a cruel joke had timed it well as it was Albus and Scorpius themselves who stumbled upon the scene first, followed closely by a Slytherin prefect who they would later realize had been tipped off.

"Once you've descended into Hades, you never return. Enemy of Olympus, beware," Scorpius read from the wall, voice strained. He sounded close to tears, and Albus would have reached out to comfort him if his attention hadn't been consumed by the wall in front of them.

"That means you, doesn't it?" Scorpius whispered right before the prefect appeared.

Both boys had seen the seventh year around enough to recognize him, but they didn't know his name. Scorpius glanced at the boy with wide eyes, hopeful that he would do something to help. Albus was less optimistic, narrowing his eyes at the prefect as he watched him take in the sight.

"Who did this?" the boy demanded, making it clear that he expected either Albus or Scorpius to own up to it. Scorpius shifted around so that he was closer to Albus, and Albus resisted the urge to step in front of his friend to partially block him from view.

"You can't think it was us," Albus responded. "It doesn't take an idiot to realize that it wasn't me, does it?"

The prefect's ears had gone red as he stared down at the two first years. Scorpius cowered.

"Do not imply that I'm an idiot, Potter. I can, in fact, read, and I know everything that goes on in this school, including your less than impressive social status. I also know that this is an egregious display, and it was you two that I found in front of it."

"Of course it was," Albus said. "They wanted us to be found in front of it. Do you think we'd be stupid enough to be here if we'd known?"

There was a tug on Albus' robes, Scorpius' wordless plea for Albus to stop. The prefect looked like he might explode at any minute, and the last thing the boys needed was to take points away from their House. It was the excuse the Slytherins would need to begin openly mocking them.

With a sigh, Albus obeyed, taking deep breaths to calm himself before he continued speaking to the prefect.

"Look. Scorpius and I didn't do this. I swear to you. Can we at least prove it to you?"

The prefect looked around as if trying to see if he would be caught breaking a rule.

"It is true that I received a note telling me to come, so presumably, even if you did do this, someone else knew of it. Yet I doubt you have any friends you would have told."

Despite this logic, the frown of his mouth indicated that he would like for them to be punished. Perhaps he was imagining the backlash of the school towards the prefect who saved Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy from trouble instead of letting them languish in detention.

"We'll go to Professor Ingham," the prefect decided with much difficulty. "He'll know what to do."

Albus breathed a sigh of relief. Ingham was fond enough of him. He'd never gotten scolded by him before at any rate, and he was always encouraging in transfiguration, which Scorpius, in particular, showed an affinity for. Albus' skills were that of an average student, but at least he hadn't caught anything on fire like one of their classmates.

Surely, Ingham would declare them innocent, and Albus vowed to make sure Ingham knew that he was his favourite professor.

Classes had ended for the day several hours before, and much of the castle had gathered in the Great Hall for dinner. Albus and Scorpius had yet to join them, often waiting until the tail end of dinner to avoid the worst of the negative attention. Now, such a routine was working against them. A fact that both boys were analyzing as they approached Ingham's office behind the prefect.

Ingham wasn't happy to be disturbed until he opened the door and saw the three students who stood before him. For a second, he took them in, brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Mr Cotter," Ingham said to the prefect, "why are you bringing Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy to my office?"

"Professor," the prefect spoke in voice more pompous than the one he'd used with the first years, "you need to come see where I found them at once."

"Need to come see?" Ingham sounded annoyed. He glanced over his shoulder as if there was something in his office that he felt was more worthy of his attention. "Why can't you just tell me where you found them, Cotter?"

"It's not so much _where_ I found them as it is the state I found the place in, Professor."

"What state was the place in, Cotter?"

The prefect's posture straightened, proud to share the answer. He was too busy smirking at Albus to notice the way Ingham scowled at him.

"There's a message written on the wall, sir, in what appears to be blood."

Ingham was interested for the first time, eyes glancing between the three students before him.

"Well," he said, stepping into the hallway and shutting his office door behind him, "that does sound like something I should check out."

Cotter led the way, looking like a soldier marching off to fight for a cause he believed in before the realities of war had sunk in. He was convinced he'd gotten Albus and Scorpius in a heap of trouble, and he would reap benefits of such a victory with the other students.

Ingham gasped when the wall in question came into sight. He brushed past the boy's, inspecting every inch of the garish display. With one finger, he swiped at the words before rubbing it between his fingers, testing it.

"Dragon's blood," he said definitively. "Someone paid a lot of money for such a childish prank. And they possess such poor taste too. To mimic the Chamber of Secrets… Few would dare, but then, your generation is more naive than those of the past."

"Right you are, Professor." Cotter had his best sucking up voice on. "So, what shall their punishment be?"

"Whose punishment?" Ingham asked, amusement colouring his voice. "Are you aware of something I am not, Cotter? Because I remain very in the dark as to who is responsible for what we see before us."

"But, sir, Potter and Malfoy–"

"Mr Potter is unlikely to have publicly insulted himself in this manner. It's foolish to suspect he has without further evidence. If you have some?"

"I do not, Professor." Cotter hung his head, not looking at Albus or Scorpius. His cheeks were a light pink and steadily growing darker.

"Right then," Ingham turned so that his back was to Cotter, "we will, of course, look into who did this, though I cannot say with certainty that we'll be able to find out. In the meantime, I ask you boys not to worry. However gruesome this sight looks, I fully believe this is the result of someone's distasteful humour and not an actual threat."

"Yes, Professor," Albus muttered.

"Right then." Ingham took a step backwards and sighed, not looking thrilled at the work he'd been given in the early evening hours. "I'll be off to find the Headmistress then. Best to let her know as quickly as possible."

He took a few steps down the hall before he turned back to look at the wall as if just realizing the words were still emblazoned on the stone.

"Maybe I should…" Ingham fumbled for his wand, the three students looking on. Tugging the instrument from his robes, Ingham offered a slight wave and the words could no longer be viewed. "They're not gone," Ingham informed them. "Merely disillusioned until I can get Professor McGonagall down here to see them for herself. Don't want the other students gawking, do we?"

Scorpius and Albus both nodded while Cotter scowled at Ingham's retreating back. Once the three students were alone, Scorpius once again took a step closer to Albus' side, cowering under Cotter's glare that was far more intense than it had been when he'd first found them.

Taking a step forward, the prefect looked like he was about to say something to them. Then he thought better of it and, with a shake of his head, brushed past them, continuing the short walk down the corridor to the common room. He disappeared inside.

As soon as he was gone, Scorpius let out a long exhale.

"I don't like him," he told Albus, shuttering. "I think he has it out for us now."

"Yeah, well, he can join the club."

Scorpius frowned at Albus and very hesitantly reached out to touch his arm, wanting to comfort Albus in the same way Albus had comforted him by taking his hand that night they'd gone to the Shrieking Shack.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Cause that stuff," he motioned towards the wall, "was pretty nasty."

Albus nodded. "Yeah, it was, but I'm fine. Really. It's not like I shouldn't have expected it, right? Someone was going to something like that on the traitor Potter."

Scorpius began chewing on his bottom lip as he watched Albus.

"Albus," Scorpius said softly, "it's okay if it bothered you."

Albus glanced up, fire in his eyes, and Scorpius withdrew his hand. As soon as the contact was broken, Albus' eyes softened, and he sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"I'm not completely okay," he admitted for the first time, voice cracking. "But nothing will make it better, Scorpius, so I'm better off pretending that I am."

Scorpius continued to watch him for a moment before offering a short nod.

"If you ever want to talk though…"

Albus grinned at him. "I know," he said.

Scorpius glanced down the corridor in the direction that led out of the dungeons.

"Do you want to get dinner?" he asked. "We could go sneak some food from the kitchens instead. They're supposed to be down here somewhere."

"No, no," Albus said with a shake of his head. "Let's go to dinner. Hiding away only makes it harder to face everyone later."

Scorpius nodded even though he still disagreed with Albus' point of view in that regard. He watched the dark-haired boy as they wandered back out of the dungeons.

XXX

Dinner that night went the same as always: some sneering from Gryffindors, silence from the other Slytherins. No one yet knew about the wall except the perpetrators and the prefect currently holed up in the Slytherin common room.

Breakfast the next morning was a different affair. Knowledge of what had happened had spread throughout the school. By the time Albus and Scorpius were sitting at the Slytherin table, everyone knew. The antagonism was direct and hostile.

It was like the words written on the wall, though no longer there, had given students who had so far stayed out of conflict with Albus permission to go after him too. They laughed as he walked through the Hall. They flaunted whispering to each other, and even when they were across the hall, Albus could tell they were discussing him

He sat with his back to the majority of the students, Scorpius sitting across from him and shooting furtive glances at the other students. Both boys kept their gazes on their food more than anywhere else, though Scorpius did try his hand at glaring.

"Don't," Albus whispered when Scorpius glared at a particularly loud student laughing behind Albus. "You'll only make it worse, and glaring isn't like you."

Scorpius' expression morphed to one of worry.

"I wish they would stop," he told Albus. "The way they keep watching us makes me uncomfortable, and what are they accomplishing anyway?"

Albus shrugged. "I don't think they're trying to accomplish anything other than annoying us, which you're showing them that they're doing."

Scorpius' cheeks gained a pink tinge. "Sorry," he apologized, causing a grin to appear on Albus' lips for the first time since they'd entered the Great Hall that morning.

"Honestly," Albus said, "I'm just glad the words are gone, and I hope none of the teachers try to get me to talk about it while they're trying to figure out who did it."

He swore that Headmistress McGonagall had given him a sympathetic look when he entered the hall, and Albus was determined to stay far away from her until everything blew over. He had a feeling that, if the students got a whiff of the fact that she'd spoken to him, they'd grow worse.

"Hey, Potter."

Albus' eyes narrowed as a sixth year Slytherin plopped down beside him on the bench. He was closely followed by three friends, who wasted no time surrounding the two first years. Scorpius flinched as he was boxed in on the bench.

"What do you want?" Albus asked the boy who'd spoken.

"Bit cranky today, I see." The older boy laughed. "We've come for a chat, nothing wrong with that."

But Albus' eyes remained narrowed.

"None of you have wanted to chat with me before."

"Well, no," one of the other boys said. "Can you blame us? You were a Potter–"

"Last I checked, I still am," Albus interjected, but the boy continued on as if he hadn't heard him.

"And it's difficult to trust a Potter. Even one who somehow got put in Slytherin. Can't blame us for being cautious."

Albus inspected each of the boys, trying to discern how much of a threat they were. Meanwhile, Scorpius stared resolutely at his food, moving it around on his plate instead of eating it.

"Okay," was the response Albus settled on. "But why are you talking to me now?"

The first boy spoke again. Albus could already tell that this one was the ringleader of their little group. He must have been the one who had goaded the others into coming over to Albus in the first place.

"Cotter told anyone who would listen about what he found last night and who he found in front of it. We've got to know, was it you who did it?"

Albus felt his face heat up.

"Why would I insult myself in dragon's blood for the entire school to see?" he snapped.

The four boys burst into laughter as if Albus' reminder of what had happened was the funniest joke they'd heard in a year.

"We don't know," one of the boys said, "but we thought it would be pretty awesome if you had. It's got the rest of the school worked up about the traitor who got sorted into Slytherin. We think it's hilarious ourselves."

"Glad someone's enjoying it," Albus muttered, turning back to his food and trying to focus on eating instead of the boys. They weren't having it.

"Come on, Potter," the first boy said again. "Lighten up a bit. You have to admit it's funny. The way those other students, especially the Gryffindors, have gotten worked up at the audacity of a Potter letting himself be sorted into Slytherin. The rumours that Malfoy here used the Imperius to make you do it."

Scorpius' head shot up, eyes wide. He hadn't heard that rumour.

Albus remained silent. He didn't look at the older boys as he shovelled scrambled eggs into his mouth. The ringleader smirked as he looked between Albus and Scorpius, taking in their less than satisfactory reactions.

"Piece of advice, boys," the ringleader said. "If you want to make friends, it might benefit you to actually, I don't know, have a sense of humour."

Albus' fork froze halfway to his mouth, and he looked up to glare at the sixth year.

"I'm sorry that I don't find a message about me being a traitor to be funny."

The older boy's smile grew malicious in nature.

"Well, it is. Largely because the rest of this godforsaken school thinks being a Slytherin makes you a traitor. If you can't laugh about that, how can we believe that you want to be here?"

Albus watched the boy, not responding. Truthfully, he wasn't sure he did want to be in Slytherin, and it wasn't a rejection of Slytherin on a fundamental level. His housemates were the problem.

Finally, Albus answered. "You think I have a House I'd rather be in? One of those that love to insult me all the time? Yeah, I'm dying to get in."

"Nice start." The ringleader stood from the table, and his three hangers-on followed. "Maybe you'll get there one day, Potter. Then we'll see about accepting you as a true Slytherin, but you're going to have to prove it first."

Albus' eyes narrowed as he watched the boy disappear down the length of the table.

"What would proving myself involve?" he asked Scorpius.

Scorpius, who had also watched the boys as they settled in further down the table, shrugged.

"I have no idea," he admitted. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean insulting Muggleborns or anything that it might have meant in the past. I'd guess that they want you to fight back with the Gryffindors."

"And what? Declare Slytherin's the best in front of the entire school? Is that what they're looking for?"

Even before Scorpius' answer of, "Probably," Albus knew that he was right. That's what it would take for him to prove himself to his House. Albus groaned, tugging on the ends of his hair in frustration. Scorpius watched him with a sympathetic look.

"I wouldn't be able to do it either," Scorpius admitted. "Admit my undying loyalty to Slytherin, that is. Of course, I can't talk in front of crowds about anything, but I especially don't think I could gush about Slytherin. Not after our less than stellar experience so far."

"But you're a Malfoy. You don't have to. They trust you well enough."

Scorpius shrugged and tore a piece off of his toast without raising it to his mouth.

"They don't see me as a threat, no," he said, looking down the length of the table that he and Albus sat at the end of. "I'm not sure I'd say that they trust me though."

"Hey," Albus said lightly, getting Scorpius to look up from his plate so that he could give him a gentle smile. "We don't need them."

Scorpius couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Right," he said. "It's fine."

Albus offered a short nod of his head.

As it was nearing time for their first class of the day, the boys began to make their way out of the hall. They were almost to the door to the entrance hall when a voice rang out.

"Ah, there he is, the supposed traitor."

Both boys froze. Scorpius looked at Albus with wide eyes, separated from him by the table. Albus turned to glare at the student who had yelled: a Slytherin, not a member of any other House. Other students in green robes surrounded him, including the ones that had paid Albus and Scorpius their visit earlier, and all of them laughed as Albus looked at them.

"Can't even stand up to the Gryffindors," the boy continued with a sneer. "Some Slytherin he makes."

The entire group laughed along with a good deal of the Slytherin table. Albus was sure that he heard some chuckling from other parts of the hall, but he didn't dare turn to look. Instead, he turned away from the group and tried to tune out their words as he left.

The people who were in the entrance hall hadn't witnessed his shame, and Albus struggled to keep it together as he walked straight in the direction of his first class.

"Albus."

Scorpius was right beside him, hurrying to keep up with his pace and trying to get him to look at him. Albus felt tears stinging at his eyes. He knew making eye contact would make the dam break, and he wouldn't allow it. Scorpius' hand slipped into his, a silent reassurance that Scorpius settled on when it was clear Albus wouldn't speak to him. Albus gripped it tightly, willing himself to get himself under control.

XXX

They didn't talk about it for the rest of the morning, but then transfiguration rolled around, the first class that day that they had with Rose. Albus had already braced himself before they arrived. Aside from knowing Rose would confront him about what had happened, this class also marked the first class of the day that they had with the Gryffindors, and Albus had been finding it hard enough to ignore his fellow Slytherins.

"We have to talk about it," Rose whispered as Albus slid into the seat beside her, Scorpius on his other side. "Ignoring it doesn't make it go away."

Albus rolled his eyes before shooting her an unamused look.

"I'm not ignoring it, but we're in class," he said. "We can talk about it when we're not surrounded by people laughing at me, thanks."

Rose looked like she wanted to argue, but Albus kept himself angled away from her and toward Scorpius instead, making it clear that he did not wish to discuss anything about last night or that morning with her.

"Well," Rose said despite the cold shoulder, "you'll have a chance to talk to me because we're having a family meeting this afternoon. Victoire wants to have one. We're meeting in that empty classroom on the fourth floor. You know the one?"

Albus offered a short nod, but he wasn't happy about the idea of a family meeting. Scorpius stared, intrigued by the idea that the Weasleys would call such a meeting. He never thought he would understand how families such as theirs operated. It felt like something from an entirely different culture.

"Is a meeting necessary?" Albus asked.

Rose shrugged. "I think it's a fine idea. You've hardly talked to any of our cousins since we started school, have you?"

Albus didn't bother with a reply. He hadn't. The only family members he'd spoken to were Rose, James, and Victoire, and with two of them, it had only been when they'd seeked him out. Rose knew all of that already. She'd been pestering him to talk to the others for weeks. Apparently Rose had never noticed that Albus had never been keen on seeking out their company, only doing so when Rose dragged him along.

"Fine," Albus agreed as class was about to begin, "but Scorpius gets to come too."

Rose wanted to argue. It was clear as day on her face. She opened her mouth but then thought better of it and closed it, her lips forming a tight line.

"Fine," she agreed. "I'm not sure how the others will react, but whatever."

It was her last ditch effort to get rid of Scorpius without actively arguing against it, and Albus winced, knowing what was coming next. Scorpius shifted in his seat, weighing his options.

"Albus, maybe it's best if–"

Scorpius cut himself off when Albus looked at him with pleading eyes. There was emotion there that Scorpius had never seen. Albus really did feel like a fish out of water amongst his family. That was something he had yet to share with Scorpius, but his reluctance to be around them was written all over his face. Scorpius could see it.

"I'll go," Scorpius said softly, unable to say no to Albus when he looked at him like that. He could brave the possible confrontation for Albus' sake.

"Thank you," Albus mouthed back. He hadn't bothered to glance back at Rose, who watched the two of them with a slight frown, not one that came from anger or sadness but one that was instead a sign of her analyzing what she was seeing. Neither of the boys paid her much attention.

The rest of the school day flew by with the promise of being confronted with more than a few Weasleys. After their last class, Rose was skipping down the hallway as the trio headed for the empty classroom that Victoire had declared to be their meeting spot.

It wasn't like sneaking to the Shrieking Shack in the middle of the night, but Scorpius still felt like they were breaking a school rule or two by meeting in there without permission.

Victoire was already there when they arrived, looking regal from where she had perched herself on the large teacher's desk at the front of the room. Fred and Roxanne were there as well, sitting atop the same smaller student desk in the front row. Almost immediately after the trio of first years had settled on top of desks of their own, James came hurrying into the room.

"If she asks, I did nothing," James declared, not explaining himself further. He took a seat in one of the chairs, propping his feet up on a nearby desk to appear nonchalant.

"James Sirius Potter."

Molly Weasley appeared in the doorway of the classroom, looking livid. Her face was as red as her hair, and almost everyone shrunk themselves down, not wanting to wind up on the receiving end of her anger. She only had her eyes set on James though, making a beeline for him. He watched her with a faux uncaring demeanor, his real fear showing in his eyes.

"Molly," he greeted, offering her a smirk. "Is there something you need?"

For a second, she did nothing but hover above him, fuming.

"What did you do with it?" she demanded.

"What are we talking about again?"

Molly growled in frustration and looked at Victoire for backup. The oldest Weasley cousin took the bait, standing up from the desk she'd been sitting on and walking towards her cousins.

"What'd he do this time?" Victoire asked Molly, her exasperation clear.

Even Scorpius could tell that nearly identical situations had happened more than once. Scorpius was sure to be out of the loop in any conversation the cousins had, and he felt like a fish out of water sitting here with them. None of them had yet to acknowledge his presence.

"What do you think?" Molly snapped. "The same sort of thing he always does."

"If I always do it, why are you making a big deal out of it?"

Molly turned her glare again to James, who had no reaction other than continuing to smirk.

Victoire sighed, playing the exasperated mother figure in every way as she directed her own glare at James.

"James, tell Molly where the notebook is this time, Merlin."

With a smirk, James obeyed. "The Owlery. Thought I'd try somewhere new."

"Somewhere new? Somewhere where the owls will defecate all over it?"

James shrugged. "You can always clean it off easily enough with a simple spell. Relax."

Molly glowered at him for a moment before speaking in a voice that sounded as if she had reigned herself in as much as possible. "I can't siphon it off without it taking off the ink too, you idiot!" Her words exploded into a shout at the end, but James' flinch was so brief that one would have missed it if they had blinked.

"Not if you only direct it at the cover," he muttered loud enough for the room to hear. "The owls aren't going to do anything to the pages."

The door flung open before Molly could snap at James again. Dominique Weasley strolled into the room, looking both at ease and like she was in charge from the moment she appeared. While Victoire exuded a motherly influence over her cousins, it was clear that Dominique was the kind to give commands to anyone around her and expect them to be followed.

She looked around the room and was the first let her gaze zero in on Scorpius, who sunk lower in his seat. He'd seen Dominique Weasley around Hogwarts and had also seen how Albus reacted to mentions of this particular cousin. Scorpius had no desire to be on the receiving end of her wrath, and he had a feeling he could achieve that by his mere presence.

"So the little Malfoy boy did come," Dominique commented as she stepped further into the room and settled on top of the same desk that Victoire had already claimed. "When Rose said you'd be here, I didn't believe her. I didn't think you'd have the nerve."

"Why would it require nerve?" Albus snapped, speaking for the first time since he, Scorpius, and Rose had entered the room. Scorpius realized with a jolt that Albus was making himself smaller just as Scorpius often did.

"What do you plan to do or say that should make Scorpius nervous?" Albus asked again, giving Dominique a look that challenged her to answer him. She was caught off guard by Albus' questioning. Scorpius could tell that it wasn't something that happened to her often, especially from Albus.

"I'm not planning on doing anything, little cousin," she replied. "All I'm saying is that it takes a lot of nerve for a Malfoy to present himself to a group of Weasleys."

She took a step towards her cousin and Scorpius, analyzing Scorpius as she did so. Scorpius shifted in his seat, scooting a miniscule amount to place himself closer to Albus. That was becoming a habit. He didn't look at Dominique either, staring at the desk in front of where he sat. He was too scared of what judgmental and angry face he would find if he looked up at her.

Then, Dominique spoke again with a smirk.

"It's a nerve that I think I could grow to admire."

Scorpius glanced up at her and made eye contact for the first time. Her smirk deepened. She looked impressed in a strange way, something Scorpius wasn't used to being on the receiving end of. It made him more nervous than her perceived anger had.

"Yeah, okay, Dominique, you're going to make him wet himself," James said with a roll of his eyes.

The red-head rolled her eyes, but she also listened, taking a step away from Scorpius and resettling herself back on the desk next to Victoire.

"Right then," Victoire began, wanting to change the subject without being sure how to do so smoothly. "Rose, you're the one who wanted us to get together."

"Of course I did," Rose began. Albus was rather amazed that it had taken her this long to speak up. "What happened to Albus is horrible. How can we not talk about it?"

"I'm not questioning your judgment," Victoire said. James chuckled at the way Rose had gotten defensive. "I was just saying that you might want to explain what you've been thinking."

"Obviously," Rose began, "I've been thinking that we need to do something. We have enough influence in this school, between our names and sheer numbers, to make a difference. We have to show the other students that they can't bully one of us and get away with it."

"And what exactly," James asked, "is your plan to do this?"

Rose shrugged, looking sheepish for the first time since Scorpius had met her on the train.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I figured that would be your area of expertise, James."

"It is," James said. "Between Fred, Roxanne, and me, I'm pretty sure we could come up with something if we wanted."

Fred and Roxanne fist bumped behind James' back, agreeing with an eagerness that worried both Scorpius and Albus.

"So you'll do it?" Rose asked.

James opened his mouth to answer, but Albus interjected before his brother could speak.

"Wait a minute. Do what exactly?" he asked. "Humiliate someone? Is that what you mean? Because I hate to admit it to you, Rose, but that wouldn't help me at all. It would only make them hate me more."

Albus' words caused a crease to form in Rose's brow, but James smirked in amusement. Albus glared at his brother, knowing what James was thinking, that James didn't care whether everyone hated Albus as long as he got to have fun.

"No," Albus stated forcefully. He glanced over at Scorpius, wondering how such a prank would affect his only friend. "I won't let you do something like that for me."

"I agree with Albus." Everyone turned to look at Victoire. There was a new aura of authority around her, one that hinted that she knew her younger cousins would listen to her. "He's right. A prank would make things worse. It's not a useful solution."

James smirked again, leaning back in his chair. He shared knowing looks with Fred and Roxanne.

"You and I have different views on life, Victoire," James stated, but he didn't try to argue with her.

"I still say we should try something," Fred said. "Not something that cruel, not to our own house, but something...small."

He looked at Victoire hopefully, but she shook her head. Dominique rolled her eyes at the conversation her cousins were having, looking bored.

"This is all so childish," she complained as she crossed her arms against her chest. "Sure, Albus has made some enemies, but he's fine. No one's hurting him. Playing pranks makes us look like idiots."

It was Roxanne who spoke next. "Just because you're not able to pull them off, Dominique..."

Dominique's expression turned from one of annoyance to one of anger. Her lips tightened into a straight line, and her eyes narrowed in Roxanne's direction.

"No one cares about useless skills like pranks," she said. "They won't get you anywhere in life."

Roxanne smirked like she knew something about Dominique's innermost feelings that she wasn't revealing. Dominique looked away, refusing to make eye contact with anyone else in the room.

"Are we putting it up for a vote then?" Rose asked. "Those in favor of getting revenge and those who aren't?"

Victoire cringed. "Calling it revenge puts me off the idea even more. Really, Rose, this whole thing is unnecessary."

"Is it?" Rose asked, a hint of venom in her voice. "What about family loyalty and all that? We have to do something."

"Family loyalty?" Victoire questioned. "Rose, this has nothing to do with family loyalty. Not wanting to play some ridiculous prank on bullies is taking the high road. We're much better off–"

"So we're voting then?"

Victoire turned to glare at James but was ignored as James continued.

"All in favour of pulling one of the greatest pranks the world has ever seen, raise your hand."

James, of course, had his hand in the air before he'd finished speaking. Fred, Roxanne, and Rose followed suit, with Rose looking apprehensive as she took in their numbers.

"Those in favour of not doing anything," Victoire said, raising her own hand. Dominique smirked as she raised her hand. Molly looked rather indifferent no matter how this turned out, but she raised her hand. Albus' hand created a tie. He nudged Scorpius in the side, motioning for him to raise his hand as well. Scorpius looked at him with pleading eyes. If the others hadn't been watching, he'd have tried to argue that he didn't feel like it was his place. This was more of a family vote after all…

But Albus stared back at him with desperate eyes, and Scorpius timidly raised his hand in the air, a motion that seemed to amuse more than a few of the Weasleys.

"That settles it then," Victoire said. "We won't do anything malicious."

"Malicious?" James repeated. "I don't think I'd describe anything I'd plan as malicious. Besides, does Malfoy's vote count?" Victoire and Albus glared at him, but James acted like he didn't notice. "I'm just saying that it was more of a family vote, so we should consider it a tie. And if it's a tie, I think–"

"No," Victoire declared. "Give it a rest, James."

James stared at her calculatingly, trying to figure out how he could turn the situation around to his advantage. Rose, who had been the one to propose this idea in the first place, no longer looked like she wanted to argue with Victoire and accepted the results without complaint.

"Are we done here then?" Molly asked. "Lysander and I have plans to complete our potions essays in the library. I don't want to be late."

James snorted at the mention of Lysander Scamander, a boy that Scorpius had only heard spoken of but who he knew was a close family friend of the Weasley and Potter families.

"Of course you don't," James said, his tone implying something that went over Scorpius' head, though everyone else seemed to get it.

Molly blushed a light pink, rolling her eyes at James as she walked by him.

"Bye, everyone," she said as she left, not paying any attention to the giggling of a few of her cousins behind her.

In response to Scorpius' questioning look, Albus leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Molly and Lysander have liked each other for years," he explained, "but they won't do anything about it. Molly has some idea that a boyfriend would interfere with her studies."

Albus pulled away and glanced around at his brother and cousins. They'd begun to break into two groups, divided evenly along voting lines, and have discussions that Scorpius and Albus were excluded from.

"Come on," Albus urged, standing from his chair. "Let's go back to the common room."

Scorpius nodded, following his best friend. None of Albus' family commented on them leaving or said goodbye. They were so absorbed in their conversations that they didn't even notice Albus and Scorpius slip out of the room. Scorpius glanced over his shoulder as the door fell shut to see if they would look at them, but they didn't.

Albus wasn't surprised. Despite having been the reason the meeting was called, he typically went unnoticed amongst his family, slipping out of gatherings like the one in the classroom without anyone paying him any mind.

He didn't want to explain that to Scorpius, even though he noticed the other boy's quizzical expression. Enough had passed between them for Scorpius to have gained some understanding of what Albus' relationship with his family was like, but Albus couldn't bring himself to openly discuss how much of an outcast he was.

The rest of his cousins could talk with each other for hours it seemed. They would randomly stop each other in the corridors about this or that, but none of that applied to Albus. With the exception of Rose, he avoided his family at all costs.

Tears stung at Albus' eyes as he thought about it. Since it had been that way for as long as he could remember, it shouldn't have bothered him. He should have accepted that it was the way it was. Truthfully, it was why he'd been sure he'd be sorted into Slytherin before he got to Hogwarts. There was a reason he was the black sheep of the family.

He couldn't cry though. Not in the corridor. Not when Scorpius would want an explanation that would only create more tears.

"Albus."

Albus shut his eyes for a second, trying to push back the tears. He couldn't look at Scorpius, who he knew had already managed to see. If he looked up and saw the sympathy in his friend's eyes, he would be past the point of no return.

"Albus," Scorpius said again, taking a step closer and placing his hand on Albus' shoulder hesitantly, almost as if he were afraid to touch him. Albus felt like he had no choice but to look at Scorpius, and he took a deep, unsteady breath as he did so.

"Sorry," was the first thing Albus could get to come out of his mouth. Scorpius frowned at the apology but didn't say anything as he continued to watch Albus with a frown. "Sometimes dealing with my family is just," Albus struggled for the right word, "difficult."

Scorpius nodded, squeezing Albus' shoulder before pulling away. The two boys began walking down the corridor again, giving them an excuse not to make eye contact as they spoke.

"I get that," Scorpius said. "I know plenty about difficult families."

Albus had yet to stop and think about what Scorpius' relationship with his family must be like. When he'd met the blonde boy on the train, before he'd known what family he belonged to, he never would have pegged him as a Malfoy. Everything about Scorpius aside from his looks was unlike everything Albus had been told about the Malfoys.

He'd realized that, but he hadn't stopped to think about what that must have meant when it came to Scorpius' relationship with his family. Albus had never stopped to think that they might be in similar boats.

"I don't have any cousins," Scorpius continued, "what, with Dad being an only child and Aunt Daphne deciding that marriage wasn't for her. Between that and being an only child, I don't entirely get what you're going through, but I do understand not feeling like you fit in with your family."

"Are they ever," again Albus struggled for the right words to express his thoughts, "terrible to you because you're not what they want you to be?"

His own family never directly hurt him, just ignored him when he didn't measure up, and even then, it wasn't in a malicious way. They never seemed to realize that they were doing it.

The Malfoys, on the other hand… Albus had heard enough about them that he wouldn't be surprised if Scorpius had suffered worse than he had.

Scorpius hesitated before he replied, and Albus could tell that they had stumbled into a landmine of emotions for the both of them. Thankfully, the corridors they were traveling down were empty at this time of day, allowing them at least an illusion of privacy.

"They've never hurt me, if that's what you're trying to ask," Scorpius said. "Grandfather Malfoy was always distant with us, since he didn't approve of my mother all that much, but he also died when I was fairly young. Grandmother Narcissa was kinder, but you could never describe her as warm. Grandma and Grandpa Greengrass were more the doting type, but they made Dad uncomfortable before they died, so I only saw them a few times a year. Mum is fantastic. Dad is...the difficult one, but he's not–" Scorpius took a shaky breath before continuing. "He loves me. I know he does. He just doesn't get how to show it, especially when I'm so different from how he thought I'd be."

"I'm sorry," said Albus, not knowing what else to say. He was being profuse with the apologies, but sometimes, that was all he knew to do when conversations turned serious.

Scorpius attempted to grin at him.

"Don't be," he said. "It's what I'm used to, and I can tell that you don't think you have it much better."

Albus shrugged. Despite Scorpius pouring his heart out, Albus felt like he couldn't handle going into detail about how his family made him feel. He tried not to think about it himself.

The corridors around them were silent. With the cold winter weather, many students were eager to reach rooms that held fireplaces, not staying in the corridors for long. Nothing but the sound of the boys' footsteps could be heard, and Scorpius slowed, looking worried.

Albus stopped too, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"Albus," Scorpius said, voice wavering, "for whatever it's worth, I think your family loves you. I could see it back there."

Albus scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, they were the epitome of a loving family in there."

He gave a loud, self-deprecating laugh, and Scorpius watched him with a frown until the laughter died down. Albus came to his senses, and tears pricked at his eyes as he began to feel the slight humiliation of knowing that his every emotion was being laid out for Scorpius to investigate. He felt too weakened to strengthen his walls.

Scorpius' frown deepened as Albus began to cry. The blonde boy took one hesitant step forward, reaching out to place his hand on Albus' shoulder. Albus ducked his head down, trying to hide in whatever way he could. He tried to hold in the tears, but it only made the sobs shake through his body violently.

Steeling himself for possible rejection, Scorpius closed the remaining space between them and took Albus into his arms.

At first, Albus stiffened, surprised at the sudden invasion of his space. They'd never hugged before. Even as Albus tried to relax his muscles, both boys remained unusually tense as they adjusted to the new experience.

Their body heat intermingled and intensified; it was a welcome feeling in the wintery castle. Albus found himself snuggling closer after several moments and burrowing his face into Scorpius' shoulder, both to hide it and because it felt warm and inviting.

With the shock of the physical contact, Albus had almost forgotten what it was he was crying about. His tears faded, and the sobs ceased to wrack his body. Scorpius didn't move his arms from around him. The boys continued to stand there, wrapped up in each other. Though each grew comfortable with the embrace, there was a thrill in touching each other that neither boy knew how to explain to themselves. It was something new.

"They really do care," Scorpius muttered after what must have been ages. His lips were close enough to Albus' ear that the words sent a shiver down Albus' spine as he felt Scorpius' breath hit his skin.

Scorpius felt the shiver and felt goosebumps erupt along his own skin. He ignored the sensation.

Albus, still hiding his face, shook his head as best as he could without lifting it. No matter how many times Scorpius said such things, Albus wouldn't believe him.

"You don't know them like I do," Albus insisted. "They don't care much about me one way or the other."

Scorpius sighed and tightened his arms around Albus, wanting to do anything in his power to take away the other boy's pain. He couldn't though, not really. Not when Albus so adamantly insisted that his family didn't care for him. Scorpius' limited experience already told him that wasn't true, but he wasn't going to be able to convince Albus of that.

The only thing he could do was let Albus continue to sniffle on his shoulder, and later on, assure him that all traces of his tears were gone before they once again had to face the other inhabitants of Hogwarts.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I know I'm posting chapters quickly at the moment. I'm kind of using it as a distraction at the moment, but I'm not going to keep up this pace for long. Also, a character experiences a panic attack in this chapter, so heads up for that if you don't want to read it. Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 9

"Did you hear?" a Slytherin boy who looked to be a fourth or fifth year asked the common room at large. "Granger-Weasley had a go at her own House."

The boy laughed loudly, doubling over where he stood at the centre of the common room. Several other students joined in as Albus and Scorpius watched from their usual corner in both curiosity and fear.

"Told them," the boy continued once he'd gotten his laughter under control, "to stop going after Slytherin-Potter and Malfoy. Apparently, she put on a right show. The Gryffindors are pissed. Can't feel sorry for them though. What loyalty can you expect from someone with such heritage?"

The boy let out another peal of laughter, but this time fewer students joined in. The new tone of the boy's joking, focused on blood purity rather than House, had made many of them uncomfortable. Albus watched the room, wondering how many of them agreed but considered it no longer prudent to say so publicly. How many of them could he trust to actually disagree with what the boy had said?

It was silent in the common room other than the laughter of the few. Every eye in the place was on the boy, waiting to see what he would do next. Clearly, he wasn't done as he continued to hold their attention.

The boy turned towards Albus and Scorpius, and Albus felt his stomach drop. Even Scorpius sunk in his seat, though he doubted what was coming was directed at him. If he was by Albus' side, Albus took the brunt of the taunting. Their attention only shifted to Scorpius when he was alone.

"Must be nice," the boy said, "to have a Gryffindor to watch out for you when you can't do it yourself."

Albus felt anger boiling in the pit of his stomach, but he did his best to reel it in. His anger wasn't entirely directed at the boy. He was also quite peeved with Rose, who he was going to have to confront later.

"The house of the brave," the boy continued, disgust in his voice. "Always wanting to make a scene, those Gryffindors, but I'd say us Slytherins are superior at sticking up for ourselves. When we're _real_ Slytherins anyway. I suppose that Gryffindor Potter and Weasley blood won't leave you. Will it, Potter?"

Albus shivered and despite the heat burning underneath his skin, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the other boy's. They stared at each other, each fuming in anger.

"You'll never be a real Slytherin," the boy said. "I don't know why you let the Sorting Hat make you one. You would've been much better off with your own kind, but now you've made them hate you too. So I guess you're screwed then. Tough, isn't it, Potter?"

The ringing in Albus' ears increased to such a high frequency that, if the boy said anything else, it was drowned out. The common room began to blur, his tightened chest made it hard for him to breathe air into his lungs, and Albus began to feel dizzy. He felt humiliated and angry and...and… He wasn't sure what else. He couldn't think straight. He couldn't think at all. It was like his mind was a swirl of emotions he couldn't make sense of.

Somewhere in his mind, he registered Scorpius repeating his name with increasing urgency, but he couldn't work out what he was supposed to do about it.

He felt like he might vomit, and he had retained enough awareness to know that was something he definitely didn't want to do in front of the whole common room.

It took everything Albus had in him to push himself up from the armchair he sat in and navigate his way to the entrance of the common room despite how dizzy he felt. He focused on breathing and trying to make sense of his surroundings. The Slytherins gathered in the room didn't seem to be laughing, at least not loudly. He wasn't brave enough to look back and see who was hiding their giggling behind their hands.

Even Scorpius' voice died away as Albus reached the corridor, and he was thankful. This experience, whatever was going on inside of him, was new, and Albus didn't know how to explain it to anyone. He didn't have the energy to.

Now that he was alone, the ringing in his ears had quieted, and his awareness of his surroundings had increased. For a moment, Albus wasn't sure what to do, but he quickly began walking in the direction of the entrance hall, knowing where it was that he wanted to go. It was the best guarantee he had of being alone.

XXX

Scorpius had watched Albus' panic attack with something akin to wonder. By this point in the year, Albus had put up with a lot, and not once had he reacted with such intensity. It was like Albus had reached his breaking point, and watching it happen had terrified Scorpius more than anything had since arriving at Hogwarts.

He thought that he had an idea of where Albus had gone. They'd learned enough about each other over the previous months for Scorpius, who rarely felt like he understood others, to think that he understood Albus in this respect.

Yet he didn't head after Albus as he fled from the common room. He wasn't sure why. Maybe part of him was scared of facing Albus alone after what he had watched happen. Scorpius had no experience with comforting others, and he knew that he would be dreadful at it. He could imagine, in his mind's eye, going after Albus only to make him feel worse.

No, he needed someone else, and there was only one person in Hogwarts whom Scorpius dared ask.

He only knew of the location of the Gryffindor common room because of his, Rose, and Albus' search for the Room of Requirement. Rose had made an offhand comment about being close to it once, and knowing it was guarded by the Fat Lady, Scorpius managed to find it with limited trouble, though it took him longer than he would have liked.

The woman in the portrait stared him down as he stood opposite her. She'd immediately taken in the sight of his Slytherin-crested robes, and Scorpius fidgeted, feeling like paint on a canvas shouldn't be adept at making him feel uncomfortable.

"I need to see Rose Granger-Weasley. Please."

Scorpius had known before he spoke that it wouldn't work. In his desperation to reach Rose, he hadn't thought about how to handle this particular problem.

"I'm not a messenger," the Fat Lady replied haughtily. "It's not my job to fetch whichever student you need, boy."

"Right. I know," Scorpius replied, trying to sound confident but failing. "I'm sorry to ask you to, but this is kind of an emergency, I swear, and I really, really need Rose."

The Fat Lady inspected him with her nose tilted into the air. She radiated distrust, and Scorpius wondered if she'd taken on the prejudices of the House she guarded over the years.

"I'm not a messenger," she repeated haughtily.

Scorpius took a shaky breath, desperately willing himself not to collapse to the ground in tears. He needed Rose, _needed_ her, and he couldn't get to her.

Something about his expression must have allowed the Fat Lady to catch onto his desperation because she dropped her regal expression for one of worry. One of her eyebrows rose as she watched him cautiously.

"Oh, dear," she muttered quietly as Scorpius' lower lip trembled.

He wasn't trying to manipulate her. In fact, he was doing everything in his power not to react so strongly, but it wasn't working. He lowered his head, not seeing the Fat Lady look to the left and the right as if willing someone else to appear and save her from her predicament.

After a moment, several tears fell down Scorpius' cheeks only to be wiped away with haste.

The Fat Lady made a noise of annoyance and disappeared from her frame. Scorpius was sure that she'd grown too annoyed with him and went to spend time somewhere else until he was sure to be gone.

His head shot up in surprise when the portrait swung open and Rose came tumbling out.

"Scorpius?" she asked, confusion colouring her voice. "What is it? What's wrong? The Fat Lady said-"

Scorpius nodded along though he wasn't sure what he was agreeing to exactly. He tried to clear his head enough to focus on what he needed to tell Rose, but he couldn't help but worry over the current state of his tear stained cheeks and red rimmed eyes. He was embarrassing.

"Albus, he kind of fled," Scorpius explained. He felt guilty admitting this to Rose, like he was at fault for hurting Albus. Maybe it was the Slytherin thing. He half expected Rose to hurl those familiar insults in his face. "There was an older student in the common room. He said some things…"

This was all Scorpius needed to say before Rose was hurrying down the hallway in the general direction of the lower levels.

"Where is he?" she demanded.

"I can't be positive," Scorpius began, not wanting her to be angry that he didn't have a definitive answer, "but my best guess is the Shrieking Shack."

This pulled Rose up short, and Scorpius nearly barrelled into her as she twirled around. Rose blinked at the near collision, and Scorpius blushed, muttering quiet apologies. Rose shook her head in exasperation and ignored Scorpius' words, speaking over him.

"Why would he have gone to the Shrieking Shack?"

"It's isolated. One of the only places he can guarantee not seeing other students."

Rose didn't get it, but she also realized that she wasn't going to. She turned back around and once again hurried towards the lower levels of the castle, Scorpius on her heels.

"Why didn't you go after him?" she asked as they jogged down the corridors and staircases. "Why come get me first?"

Scorpius was surprised that there didn't seem to be judgment in her voice.

"I don't know," he admitted. "It felt like what I should do. I guess that I figured you'd be better at talking to him than I would be."

Rose didn't have a response to Scorpius' words other than glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. Scorpius felt embarrassed at admitting to his own inadequacies when it came to comforting others—or talking to them in any way at all. The two students hurried along in silence, now somewhere on the third floor of the castle.

"Maybe coming to get me was a good thing," Rose said, startling Scorpius out of his thoughts. "A lot of the Gryffindors saw the Fat Lady come in the common room and tell me about the blonde Slytherin boy waiting outside." Scorpius blushed. "Maybe it'll change how some of them think."

Scorpius doubted it would do anything of the sort. Those Gryffindors were probably still sitting in their common room and laughing about Scorpius and Albus and whatever else they found funny. To believe differently was a level of foolishness that Scorpius didn't wish to descend to, but then, he got the impression that he was much more jaded in this regard than Rose. Perhaps he couldn't blame her for seeing the best in Gryffindor when she'd managed to see it before.

In any case, he wasn't going to rain on her parade and risk her anger. Albus was his focus as they continued to hurry towards the Whomping Willow, and Albus was the only thing that Scorpius would let himself think about.

XXX

The long, winding passage underneath the Whomping Willow hadn't become any less intimidating than before. Scorpius unsuccessfully held back a shiver at the thought of Albus making the trip alone. He wasn't sure if he could have braved it.

That was a lie. He could have if he'd known that Albus was at the other end and hurting. His footsteps hurried along, not worried about tripping like he had been last time. It didn't matter. He'd get back up again. Thoughts of Albus swirled in his mind. He was probably okay in the broadest sense of that word, but he was no doubt upset, and Scorpius hated knowing that. He needed to get close to Albus, needed to assure himself as well as Albus that everything would be fine.

When he pulled himself up by the floorboards of the dilapidated house, Albus was nowhere in sight. Scorpius had figured that he wouldn't be in the main room, but he let out a sigh nonetheless.

He didn't wait for Rose to appear behind him—she was several metres down the passageway—as he began to inspect each of the rooms, leaving no stone unturned.

Albus was on the ground floor, curled up on a hole-riddled, old-fashioned sofa that was the only piece of furniture in the room he occupied. The patterns of dust on the floor suggested that Albus had moved it to its current position as far from the door was possible, though that did nothing to hide him from view.

Scorpius couldn't hear Rose's footsteps echoing down the hall as he rushed to Albus' side, inspecting him with his eyes as if he expected to find physical injuries.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked, panic in his voice. He wasn't sure how, but somehow, seeing Albus again had set his panic at an all time high. The journey to Gryffindor Tower, the walk to the Whomping Willow, and the hurried trip down the secret passageway. All of it had taken so long, and Scorpius had managed to calm his racing heart because he would have had a heart attack otherwise.

Now, faced with Albus once again, Scorpius' mind raced with worry.

Albus looked up at Scorpius with wide eyes, shocked at having been found.

"I'm fine," he replied unconvincingly, pushing himself up to a sitting position as if he'd been found doing something forbidden.

Rose entered the room. Scorpius didn't bother to turn and look at her, but Albus' eyes widened further at the sight of his cousin. Then they narrowed accusingly, causing Rose to flinch.

"Scorpius told me what happened," she said, trying to keep her voice light. "He said something about an angry Slytherin having a go at you."

"Oh, really," Albus said, venom in his voice. "Did Scorpius also tell you what he was having a go at me about?"

Scorpius cringed. That hadn't seemed like important information to tell Rose when all he'd wanted was to get to Albus as quickly as possible, but now that he thought about it, maybe he should have warned her. Rose was handling it remarkably in any case. Whereas Scorpius would have crumbled had Albus been directing that glare at him, Rose squared her shoulders and faced him head on.

"He didn't," she admitted. "I assumed it was more of the same."

"You decided to defend my honour in front of Gryffindor like I'm some kid to protect."

Rose blinked, staring at Albus strangely.

"You're angry at me because I defended you?"

"You got up in front of the entire Gryffindor common room to yell at them about me." Albus pushed himself off of the sofa and took several steps towards Rose. They were about even in height, and it became a battle over who could make themselves appear taller. "Of course I'm mad. You couldn't just leave it alone. You knew the Slytherins would find out, that the Slytherins wouldn't take too kindly to a Gryffindor standing up for a Slytherin."

"You shouldn't care what anyone thinks," Rose said. "Gryffindor or Slytherin. As long as they shut up, what's the issue? I made the Gryffindors shut up."

"And gave the Slytherins even more to hold against me. Yeah, geez, thanks, Rose."

This caused Rose to pause, considering Albus with scepticism. She didn't quite understand, that much was clear, but she found his words curious. To her, it was a strange way of looking at things.

"I just wanted them to shut up," she muttered. "They wouldn't shut up."

It was the first time Scorpius had seen the girl cowed. Even to Albus, such a reaction from Rose felt strange. It wasn't something he had seen often over the course of their short lives, and he was torn between relishing it and wishing Rose would disappear. He'd come to wish that more and more as they got older. Maybe he should have felt bad about that. He didn't. Not at all.

"Well, next time don't do it," was Albus' brilliant response. "Because you trying to help made things worse, Rose, and I can handle it myself, okay?"

Rose shrugged, looking conflicted but not convinced by Albus' words.

"Whatever you want," she said, looking towards the wall instead of at the boys. "I won't say anything else to anyone. No matter what they say or do."

There was a threatening undertone to her words that Albus didn't miss. If he wound up physically harmed, Rose wouldn't come to his aid. Except he knew she would. Albus knew she wouldn't be able to help herself no matter what she had said in the past.

"Fine," Albus replied.

Rose was pouting, arms crossed against her chest. Her gaze was still firmly on the wall, and there were tears sparkling in her eyes, though they were from anger, not sadness. Albus knew that she wouldn't be speaking to either of them for a while, and his gaze turned towards Scorpius, who stood quietly to the side. He was watching the others with a downturn to his lips, and his eyes kept flickering towards Rose like he was expecting her to yell.

Albus offered him a smile, at least as good of one as he could manage when he felt so terrible. Scorpius smiled back, his own smile also muted. Albus got the distinct impression that Scorpius was trying to analyze him and decide how bothered he was by Rose. Albus worked on keeping his face a mask.

"You okay?" Scorpius asked, taking a hesitant step forward.

With a sigh, Albus lowered himself back onto the sofa, and Scorpius didn't think twice before settling down beside him, hoping that his proximity would provide some level of comfort.

Albus thought about lying, thought about saying that he was perfectly fine, but he couldn't. Scorpius had seen him back in the common room, and they both knew the truthful answer to that question.

"Not really," Albus admitted.

Scorpius' frown deepened, and he reached out hesitantly once again, this time to touch Albus on the arm. When Albus didn't shy away, he became bolder, wrapping his hand around Albus' wrist. He didn't feel bold enough to initiate holding hands.

Still, he could feel Albus' pulse beneath his fingers, and the sensation managed to comfort him, even if it was a useless gesture to Albus. If only Scorpius knew how Albus felt feeling him sitting close by…

"That guy was a jerk," Scorpius said quietly. Albus offered Scorpius another smile, thankful that his friend was trying to comfort him.

"He is," Albus agreed, "but he felt kind of right too. About me not being a true Slytherin."

"Albus," Scorpius began in a pained voice. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't been worried about this from the beginning. Some part of Scorpius was so amazed to have Albus as a friend that he was sure he was going to lose him. The most common scenario that ran through his mind was Albus deciding he couldn't be a Slytherin and begging McGonagall to be a Gryffindor. As unlikely as a scenario as it was, Scorpius couldn't stop his mind from drifting there at times.

"You know that's not true," he told the other boy, gentleness and desperation warring in his voice. "You are a Slytherin. You are. The Sorting Hat wouldn't have put you here otherwise. He wouldn't have. The others, well, they're just angry. They've been angry their whole lives because their parents were angry before they were. Maybe their reasons for that are justified, maybe they're not, but none of it is your fault, no matter how much they want to take it out on you."

Albus was torn between amusement and pain. "Scorpius, telling me that my entire House blames my dad for their families' bad luck isn't the best way to make me feel better."

Scorpius froze, looking guilty. Albus tugged Scorpius' hand away from his wrist only to lock their fingers together, hoping to assure Scorpius to not become discouraged because of his words.

"Right," Scorpius said. "Maybe it's not. I just...I want you to know that what they say isn't justified. It's their problem, not yours."

There was a long pause, Scorpius' words echoing through the room. Rose had begun to act like she was thoroughly taken by the peeling wallpaper decorating the walls, and she paced the edges of the room, face turned away from them even as she hung on their every word.

Albus was warring with himself, and he stared down at his and Scorpius' interlocked hands.

"I always thought I might be a Slytherin," he admitted in a whisper. This was enough to cause Rose to pause in her steps, though she didn't turn towards them. "Well, not always. My family only talked about Gryffindor when I was little, so I thought I'd be there too, but then I got older and learned what the Houses meant. Suddenly, Slytherin sounded like a much better fit, but I knew how my family would feel about that. It was terrifying, and I hoped I'd be sorted into Gryffindor instead. But I knew I wouldn't."

He took a deep, shuddering breath as he thought about his past fears, the way he'd been sure that the sorting ceremony would reveal his true nature to his family and lead to them abandoning him. In many ways, his worst fears hadn't become reality, but his sorting hadn't had the easiest consequences either.

"Then I did get sorted into Slytherin," Albus continued, "and once I was there, I wondered if I'd been wrong before. Maybe I'm not a Slytherin. I don't seem to fit in. I'm starting to think that I don't fit in anywhere."

"Albus, this school has housed millions of students over the course of millennia, and every single one of them has been sorted into one of the four Houses." Albus looked up at Scorpius in surprise. "I think you fit into Slytherin just fine, probably better than a lot of others who've been in it in the past."

Scorpius' eyes glazed over as he stared at a spot on the far side of the room. He shook his head absentmindedly.

"Some of the children of the hardcore pureblood families shouldn't be in Slytherin," Scorpius continued. "They're here because they think they should be. They ask the Sorting Hat for it, so they get it. There are others, from less blood-obsessed families, who should be in Slytherin but beg not to be. I'm not saying the Sorting Hat shouldn't take personal wants into consideration, but, Albus, you're more of a Slytherin than a lot of those very same Slytherins who bother you."

Albus' jaw lay slack as he took in Scorpius' words. While Scorpius had been speaking, Rose had turned around, watching Scorpius with narrowed eyes. Her expression wasn't one of anger though; it was calculating.

"Thank you." Albus' voice shook as he spoke. He was floored by Scorpius' words, and Scorpius couldn't believe he'd managed to say something that would shock Albus so much. "I think–I think I need that."

Scorpius smiled at him, feeling proud, but there was also an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, knowing that there was something more that he wanted to say. His mind wouldn't rest until he'd said it, but he also felt scared to admit it aloud.

"And, if you'd been a Gryffindor, we might not have become friends," Scorpius said quietly.

Albus' eyebrows knitted together in confusion, and Scorpius averted his eyes to the floor, not looking back up until Albus spoke.

"You don't know that," he said softly. "We might've been, but it doesn't matter anyway, does it? Because I am a Slytherin, and to be honest, Scorpius, you're the biggest reason I'm happy about that. I mean, I thought I belonged here before, but you're the one thing that makes me happy to be in this House. I never would have chosen Gryffindor after meeting you on the train."

They smiled at each other, both forgetting that Rose still stood in the room. She didn't feel like she could interrupt this moment; it wasn't her place.

As they began talking to each other about other topics, Scorpius doing what he could to get Albus' mind off his worries, Rose still remained quiet, watching them, analyzing them. She wasn't sure either of the boys had realized what she had.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I had a guest review about Albus' problems with his family being as much his fault as his family's, and since I couldn't respond directly to the review, I wanted to say: Yeah, that is what I'm going for with that. Anyway, this chapter is short, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 10

Rose kept her word about not confronting Albus' bullies over the next couple of weeks. No matter what anyone said, she said nothing back. It might have been her imagination, but she thought the way she had backed down had led to everyone being crueler than they had been before. They knew they could get away with it now.

But Albus had made himself clear: He didn't want her to interfere, and no matter how angry that made her, Rose would keep her promise.

Instead, she had to come up with new ways of making the bullies back off. She couldn't, after all, let the issue rest and do nothing. Her conscience wouldn't let her do such a thing.

"Scorpius," Rose greeted, linking her arm with the boy's as she approached him. He looked at their linked arms with wide eyes, though this was the third time Rose had done this exact thing.

"Rose," Scorpius responded, raising an eyebrow at her in a question. "Don't you have Potions next?"

He'd become an expert at her schedule, what with her appearing out of nowhere all the time. Scorpius had managed to work out which passing periods would likely be Rose free. This particular one, when Rose was heading from Herbology to Potions while Scorpius travelled from Transfiguration to Charms, was typically one of those times. It was the only reason Albus was nowhere to be found. If either of the boys had expected Rose to appear, Albus never would have let her corner Scorpius alone. The boy still held a fear that his cousin would say or do something out of line, though she hadn't been doing anything recently.

"I do," Rose said. "I'll make it in time."

She probably would, but it wouldn't be without a rush. Why she had deemed it important enough to rush across the castle to find him, Scorpius didn't understand. Rose was becoming far too eager to be in his presence lately, but it was only when there were other students around. He wasn't naive enough to think it was for his own sake. She had a larger motive, and it was that motive that drove her across the school.

"Hello," Rose called to a fellow Gryffindor as they passed. The Gryffindor looked to where Rose's and Scorpius' arms remained linked and scowled. Scorpius felt his face flush as the scowl was directed primarily at him, not Rose, as if he had initiated it and was tainting a Gryffindor.

It was undeserved, but Scorpius knew better than to try to convince the Gryffindor of that. Rose, for her part, had missed the hostile look entirely, too busy smiling at everyone they passed. She held her head high even as many of the students they passed watched disapprovingly.

Scorpius sighed. This was becoming far too commonplace. At first, he'd been shocked that the students were enough off put by a Gryffindor spending time with a Slytherin that they would take the energy to glare, but now he felt exhausted by it. He hadn't asked for Rose to drag him through the hallway, and here he was, a target for anger.

"Rose, you should start heading to Potions," Scorpius said. He was becoming good at making these suggestions without his tone revealing his true desire to escape. "Setwall may love you and all, but you don't want to damage that relationship, right?"

Rose held a strong desire to be a model student—when she wasn't encouraging the boys to wander the corridors at night—so she nodded her head in agreement.

"I should," she agreed. Scorpius knew that enough people had seen them by then to satisfy her. She hurried away with one last, short wave.

With a sigh, Scorpius continued on his way to Charms, feeling defeated. Truthfully, he didn't believe that he should complain. He'd been excited about Hogwarts because it would be his first opportunity to make friends. When Albus and Rose had wandered into that train compartment, Scorpius had hoped to befriend both of them. Now he had; he should have been thrilled.

XXX

It took another few days before Scorpius was certain that he couldn't continue to deal with Rose's friendship performances in the corridors. Passing periods had become more draining than classes. It was too much, and Rose wasn't going to let up anytime soon. She remained oblivious to the effect of her performances on Scorpius.

Albus wasn't oblivious. There was a roll of his eyes whenever Rose appeared next to him and Scorpius. He watched the two of them, ready to step in at a moment's notice if Rose said something or a Gryffindor got too angry.

The whole thing made Albus nervous, even if he wasn't forced into the spotlight the same way Scorpius was each time Rose did this. He typically remained in the background, acting as the continual guard who was ready to step in at a moment's notice.

When Scorpius began fidgeting one day and casting nervous glances in his direction, Albus knew what his best friend was gearing himself up to say, but he gave him the time he needed to say it for himself.

"Can we talk?" Scorpius asked. The sun had set, and Scorpius had been fidgeting since breakfast. Albus looked up from the essay he was trying to write, giving Scorpius a gentle smile.

"Of course." Albus emphasized his words by closing the book in front of him and pushing the parchment away from him. Scorpius' own book remained open, but it had been long forgotten. His eyes were on a spot on the library wall behind Albus as he spoke, and he picked at a thread hanging from the sleeve of his robes.

"It's about Rose," Scorpius admitted.

Albus wished the other boy would look at him.

"What about Rose?" Albus asked, goading the blonde boy into saying it himself.

Scorpius hesitated for another moment before he spoke again.

"All of those times she's shown up in between classes to grab onto my arm and drag me around… I'm glad she wants to be friends," he made sure to clarify, "but I don't want to be friends like this. I feel like a circus animal that she's parading around the corridors. Albus, I'm sorry, but I can't take it anymore."

"Why are you apologizing?"

Scorpius tore his eyes from the wall, staring at Albus in awe.

"You're not angry?" Scorpius asked.

Albus' brow furrowed. Why would Scorpius think he was angry?

"Course not," he said. "I've been itching to tell Rose off since she began that ridiculous show, but I didn't because I figured it would make you uncomfortable. You never want to anger her, so I let her humor herself. I didn't think that was a secret."

The look on Scorpius' face was enough to assure Albus that his best friend had not, in fact, realized that.

Albus continued, "If you want me to say something to her, just say the word. I'd be happy too. Honestly. I don't want to do something that will upset you."

There was a softness in Scorpius' eyes as he looked at Albus, and for once, Albus felt his own cheeks heat up at the look of adoration. Then, the moment was broken. Scorpius was back to staring at the wall, a look of nervousness once again engulfing his features.

"I don't know," he said. "I do wish she'd stop, but you're right that I don't want to anger her. I do want to stay friends. Just not like this."

Albus nodded.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Scor," he said. "Rose takes everything personally. She won't be happy if I say something to her, and she may go into denial about what I say to her. Eventually, though, she'll realize I'm right, and she'll suck it up and come back, even if she doesn't apologize. It's what Rose does."

Scorpius shifted in his chair as he imagined the drama Albus had described unfolding. Having friends was turning out to be much more exhausting than Scorpius had imagined, at least when it came to Rose.

"Scorpius," Albus said, trying to regain his attention, "I'm serious when I say that I'll only do it if you tell me to, but I do think it's a good idea. She should know that she's bothering you."

Scorpius was still unsure, but he nodded his head, glancing back at Albus.

"Please tell her," he said. "But just...be careful about it. Please. I'd like her to come out of it not hating me if it's at all possible."

Albus nodded with a frown, reaching out to grip Scorpius' hand in his own. The touch only lasted for a moment. Albus squeezed Scorpius' hand, then released it, drawing back his own.

"Don't worry," Albus assured him. "I'll handle it. Trust me. I've been dealing with Rose since I was a baby. I know how to word things with her. There's no way to keep her from being angry, but I'll make sure that she stays as agreeable as she can be, considering."

Scorpius offered a hesitant smile.

"Thank you," he whispered. There wasn't an adequate way for him to express his gratitude to Albus. He felt overcome with emotion, and it wasn't just Albus' agreement to talk to Rose. It was everything Albus had done for him.

Albus went back to his homework, not catching the way Scorpius' eyes lingered on him as he worked.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 11

Less than a week later, the Hogwarts Express was once again full of students. This time, they were heading home. Albus and Scorpius felt remarkably different than they had on the last train ride. They settled into a compartment together, and the conversation came easily. They were no longer getting to know each other. There was no hesitance in the way they behaved.

While last time they'd both been more than a little scared of what awaited them at Hogwarts. This time, both of them felt a similar sense of trepidation over going home again.

The beginning of the ride passed quickly, with the boys sharing sweets off the trolley and laughing together as the Scottish countryside flew by outside the window.

An hour of the trip had passed before Rose showed her face in the compartment. When she did, it was with two Gryffindors in tow. The Slytherins recognized the two girls from the classes they shared with the Gryffindors. They had probably even listened to Rose exchange a few words with them here or there, but they had never been introduced. Neither boy could recall the two girls' names, though the girls surely knew theirs.

"Hello," Rose greeted. There was a spring in her step as she entered the compartment and motioned for her companions to follower her.

Both of the girls were hesitant, glancing at each other before they simultaneously stepped into the compartment, as glued to each other's side as they could be while fitting through the doorframe.

"This is Laney and Katherine," Rose informed them, motioning to each girl as she said their name. The girls nodded in greeting but didn't speak.

Scorpius offered a jerk of his head in what was meant to be a greeting. He was so thrown off guard that the motion became unnatural, hardly even looking like a greeting.

The girls hovered by the door until Rose motioned for them to sit down. They analyzed their options, taking in what space was available. Albus and Scorpius each sat by the window, facing each other. There was plenty of room beside both of them, but the girls chose to sit on Albus' bench, making it clear that he was the safer option. Even so, they sat as far from him as possible without one being on the other's lap. The slightly taller girl, apparently Laney, was pressed up against the compartment wall by Katherine.

Rose chose to ignore their strange behaviour, taking a seat on the bench beside Scorpius for herself. There was deliberateness to the way she sat at a reasonable distance from him, not too far away, as a show for the other girls. Undoubtedly, they did watch her do so, but it was with judgmental eyes.

Watching the two girls with narrowed eyes, Albus wanted to demand to know what they were doing in his and Scorpius' compartment, but he didn't dare ask, not liking the possible ways such demands could go. Certainly it wouldn't make the girls have any warmer feelings towards Slytherin.

"Nice day, isn't it?" Rose asked, glancing out the window. As she spoke, there was a visible break in the clouds out the window that let sunshine through. The visible beams shone down on the Scottish Highlands. It was a picture perfect sight that one might expect to find on one of those Muggle postcards that Dudley Dursley was fond of sending the Potters once a year or so, but it was also fleeting, with the sun disappearing moments later.

"It is," Scorpius agreed, sounding far too enthusiastic about the overcast sky that punctuated most of their days. "I've always loved the Highlands. Spectacular place. Really beautiful."

Rose hummed in agreement, but no one else in the compartment responded to Scorpius' words. The other girls were scowling in a way that made it seem like they held a particular contempt for the landscape—maybe they did, but it was doubtful that that was the reason for their foul mood. Albus was too busy scowling back to bother responding to a conversation about something as pathetic as the view out the window.

The rest of the journey was largely the same. Albus' mood worsened and worsened as the two Gryffindor girls remained in their compartment. He and Scorpius learned nothing more about them as they sat there in silence. Rose poked and prodded them to speak, but nothing more than a few words came out at a time. It was remarkable, really, that someone could say so little for so long. Albus had half a mind to tell them so, but Scorpius held him back.

Each time that Albus thought he was about to lose his temper, both with the girls and with Rose, Scorpius sent him a look, one that showed that he sensed what Albus was about to do and that he didn't approve. Scorpius tried his best to converse with the girls for the entire trip, asking them question after question that they didn't respond to, choosing instead to look through him as if he hadn't spoken at all.

The closer they got to London, the easier it was to forget the girls were even in the compartment. The boys became wrapped up in other thoughts, each growing quieter. Their jokes died away, though Rose tried her best to keep up the conversation by herself.

It was clear as day that she was at ease. She was the only occupant of the compartment who was on good terms with everyone else, but in addition to that, she wasn't nervous about what would come after getting off the train.

Albus had been worrying for days about facing his parents for the first time since his sorting. They'd said in letters that they didn't mind, but when he was looking them in the eyes, would he be able to believe whatever sentiments they spouted? The worry was something he could no longer push to the recesses of his mind.

Scorpius, for his part, didn't have to face disapproving parents due to being a Slytherin. He wasn't even particularly worried about seeing his parents, knowing that they would be the same as always. What worried Scorpius was the combination of people who would be on that platform once they reached King's Cross.

Draco Malfoy wanted nothing more for his son than happiness. No matter how rocky their relationship could be, Scorpius repeated that to himself frequently. It was what his mother had always told him. He'd listened to his father's regrets when it came to friendship, and he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Draco would be relieved he'd made a friend. Who cared if said friend was a Potter?

No, he wasn't worried about his parents disapproving of Albus. He was, however, worried about his parents and Albus coming face to face with each other. Scorpius couldn't imagine how such a meeting would go, and he'd rather keep it that way. He imagined it wouldn't be good, especially if Albus' parents got thrown into the mix. He hadn't lived with his father for eleven years without hearing his complaints about Harry Potter.

Both boys struggled to contain their nerves as the train began to slow, taking deep breaths as they gathered their things. Neither wanted to admit what they were scared of. Even if the girls hadn't been there, it was unlikely that either would have confessed, feeling too vulnerable in their fear.

The platform was as hectic as it had been on September 1st. Except now everyone was bundled up in winter cloaks, which had the effect of making it seem like there were even more people crowded into the space. Families were everywhere, packed onto the platform like sardines. Students began streaming out of the train cars, and the crowd managed to become even more of a mess.

With all three girls having disappeared as soon as the station came into view out the window, Scorpius and Albus were left alone to watch the happenings on the platform from their compartment window. Neither made a move to leave.

Letting out a large sigh, Albus turned to Scorpius, face set in a deep frown.

"I suppose it's time to go," he said, earning a short nod from Scorpius.

It was funny, really, how sad Albus was to be leaving Hogwarts. He'd had a miserable time there. That much was certain. However, faced with the prospect of being home, he was able to come up with at least a few reasons why Hogwarts might have been preferable. Reasons that hadn't been on his mind when his family was far away.

The noise of the platform increased as the boys stepped off the train. A few nearby witches and wizards did double takes as they recognized Albus as the son of Harry Potter. Albus kept his eyes averted, wishing not for the first time that he had inherited more from his mother in the way of appearance.

With all the commotion, it was difficult to find who you were looking for without pushing your way through the crowd and hoping you'd be successful. The Malfoys came into view first. Scorpius tugged on Albus' sleeve to indicate the couple, standing to the side of the platform, as removed from the rest of the crowd as possible. Neither of the adults had yet to catch sight of their son, though both sets of eyes were watching the crowd.

"See you after Christmas," Scorpius said, taking a step towards his parents.

"Hold on." Albus hadn't planned on this, but in the heat of the moment, he spoke without thinking about it beforehand. "Would you like me to go over and meet them?"

Scorpius' eyes widened before he could control his expression. His eyes flickered between his best friend and his parents in indecision.

"I'm not sure if that's a great idea," he admitted. It wasn't like he could reveal something that Albus didn't already know. They were both aware of the animosity between their fathers and families.

Albus knew why Scorpius wasn't eager to introduce him to his parents, but he wished that the boy would have gone for it. Albus found himself feeling incredibly curious about Draco Malfoy. He had heard so much of him between his family and Scorpius, yet he had never actually been able to meet the man.

"Alright," he agreed, feeling it was not the best to argue on the platform.

Astoria Malfoy had spotted them, and she waved eagerly at Scorpius, a wide smile taking up most of her face. From what Albus could tell, she was the happy sort, and it fit with what Scorpius had shared about her.

"Bye, Albus," Scorpius said. There was a moment of hesitation where Scorpius didn't know what to do. He made a move as if to hug Albus but then thought better of it. Then he raised his hand as if for a handshake, and once again, he lowered it in a moment of hesitation.

Albus smiled. "Goodbye, Scorpius." He took a step forward and hugged the blonde boy. It was a short hug. Albus was far too aware of the many eyes on them as they interacted, the Potter boy and the Malfoy boy. People couldn't believe it.

Scorpius was a light pink when they pulled away, though neither of them were sure if that was from the hug itself or the whispers they could hear around them. At any rate, he smiled at Albus as he took a step towards his family, both parents watching them. Astoria's smile had grown soft, while Draco's expression remained as unreadable as it had been before he'd spotted his son.

As Scorpius pushed his way through the crowd, Albus took a moment to watch. He observed the way his best friend kept his eyes downcast as he approached his family, the way he glanced up to smile at his mother and then, with more hesitation, his father. Astoria hugged him tightly. Draco squeezed his shoulder.

By the time that Scorpius glanced back to where Albus had been standing, Albus was gone, meandering through the crowd in search of his own family. Passing by Uncle Percy and his brood, Albus kept his eyes averted, not wanting to get drawn into what he could hear was a thrilling conversation on Molly's likelihood of becoming Head Girl.

Albus' own parents were a little further down the platform. James had already joined them and was spiritedly recounting a prank he had pulled a few days before. Lily listened eagerly, proving herself to be the perfect audience.

Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione weren't in sight. Knowing that Rose had been one of the first off the train, Albus assumed that they'd already gone, leaving the Potters to wait for their reluctant son to show his face.

"Al!" Lily exclaimed, seeing him first. She ran forward, hugging him before Albus could brace himself for the impact. James frowned, disappointed to lose his audience. It was clear that neither Harry nor Ginny were paying any attention as their oldest son struggled to get someone to listen.

"You're taller!" Lily exclaimed. She'd loosened her grip on Albus in favour of bobbing up and down on her toes in her excitement. "How was Hogwarts?" she asked. "What's the Slytherin common room like? Was it like how James describes the Gryffindor one?"

Albus could only blink. The months at Hogwarts had desensitized him to Lily's abundant energy and incessant need to ask questions. His mind couldn't keep up.

"Lily," Harry said with a laugh, stepping forward to place a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Let him breathe for a minute. You have plenty of time to hear about the Slytherin common room."

Lily pouted, continuing to look at Albus in the hopes of getting an answer, but Albus looked past her and to his parents. He didn't much feel like describing the common room.

"You have everything?" Ginny asked. She sensed how he was feeling in a way the rest of the family didn't.

Albus nodded, looking down at his trunk. It was all that he'd brought with him, his owl having been off flying when he left. She'd find her way to Grimmauld Place on her own. She'd made the trip enough.

"Let's get going then," Ginny said, reaching out to take one end of Albus' trunk. Albus grabbed the other, with Harry and James similarly carrying James' trunk across the platform to a more secluded corner.

Ginny held out her hand for Albus to take, and feeling the familiar sense of unease that came before apparating, Albus gripped her hand tightly, with Lily doing the same on Ginny's other side. Albus didn't have a chance to look at his father and brother before Platform 9 and ¾ was disappearing and being replaced by the front step of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

The sight of the familiar house filled Albus with a confusing mix of comfort and dread. He'd lived his entire life here until September. He had many good memories in this house, but it also reminded him that he was stuck with his family for several weeks and would have to face head on that he was the lone Slytherin in the family. This was what Albus had been dreading most since the Sorting Hat had shouted "Slytherin" at his sorting.

Albus remained quiet as the family shuffled inside. The elderly Kreacher was waiting inside the door when they entered, and he entered the fray of Potters with eagerness.

"Welcome home, Masters James and Albus," Kreacher said brightly. "Kreacher will get your trunks."

A snap of Kreacher's fingers, and the trunks were gone, having been deposited in each boy's respective bedroom.

"Thank you, Kreacher," both boys muttered. It had been drilled into them from a young age that they were expected to be polite to their house elf, no matter what other families did. Kreacher smiled at the thanks, still not used to getting anything like praise despite it having been common for the entirety of Albus' life.

Albus tried to edge towards the stairs as a means of escaping, but he didn't get far before he was being herded into the kitchen by his father.

"It's been a long day," Harry said. "I'm sure you're both hungry."

James agreed, and Albus forced himself to nod as well, not wanting to be obvious in his hopes of escape. They sat around the table at their usual spots, and for the first time, sitting in his usual chair felt foreign to Albus. Sitting there had never been cause for much thought before, but now Albus felt like he was intruding, even as the familiarity of the routine came back to him.

Harry and Ginny moved around the kitchen, pulling what food they could find from the cupboards and fridge. It wasn't a meal technically. It was odds and ends and snacks and the like, but there was enough there to constitute at least a small meal, even if it was a strange one.

Albus busied himself with eating, hoping he could avoid getting drawn into a conversation with his family. He would eat and then ask to be excused to his room.

Even as he planned it out in his head, he knew it wouldn't happen. He'd come back from his first term at Hogwarts. Albus hadn't forgotten the fanfare that James had faced when he was in the same position.

"Is the Slytherin common room really under the lake?" Lily asked. It was a tidbit that their father had given them in his stories. The one about him and Uncle Ron polyjuicing themselves into Slytherins had always been one of Lily's favourites, and she had expressed amazement at the idea of the room being under the lake before.

"It is," Albus informed her, inwardly groaning. He had given in, and Lily was sure to never leave him alone. She'd keep reeling off the questions for the rest of break. Albus would get no rest. "But it's not that special or anything," Albus said, trying to kill her excitement. "All it means is that the lighting is green."

Lily's smile didn't dim. If anything, she looked more excited about getting an answer of any kind, no matter how inadequate.

"And everything's green?" she asked.

Albus resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his little sister. Typically, he could put up with her, but he had lost the ability after being separated from her for several months. He was finding it difficult to listen to her talk, and he wished she would let him eat his food in silence.

"Yes," Albus replied.

Albus knew another question was coming, but he let his eyes trail from Lily to the other members of the family, who he expected to be engaged in a different conversation. Instead, they were watching him too. James looked rather bored, but Harry and Ginny were both smiling at Albus.

Albus felt his cheeks flush as he looked away, but he wasn't sure why he was embarrassed.

"What's the atmosphere like?" Ginny asked. Lily nodded her head, showing her approval of the question though it was unlikely that it was a question she would have asked herself.

Albus shrugged, not knowing how to answer that question. Was now the time to tell his parents about how he'd been ostracized by the other Slytherins? He'd avoided mentioning it in his letters, and he had good reasons for that. He had no intention of them finding out.

His eyes flickered to James, half expecting his brother to out him, but James was zoned out, not paying any attention to the rest of the family's conversation. Albus hoped it stayed that way. Telling on Albus would bring James far too much satisfaction for Albus to be able to convince him not to do it.

"It's...interesting," is what Albus decided to say. He watched his parents' expressions and was surprised not to see any indication that they were disappointed in his answer.

In fact, they kept asking more questions. Everyone, except James, wanted to know what his classes were like, what Scorpius was like, if the Slytherin beds were as comfortable as the Gryffindor ones (not that Albus could compare). Question after question passed, and Albus got the impression that his family was genuinely curious and not just trying to make him feel like they were.

He wasn't sure what to make of that.

XXX

Draco Malfoy was a quiet man. He wasn't shy or introverted like Scorpius had once thought him. No, at some point in time, Scorpius had begun to realize that his father was quiet because he didn't know what to say, not because he chose to keep thoughts to himself.

Not only was he a quiet man, but he was also a man who, over time, had learned to control everything he did: from his facial expressions to his actions. All of it was like one large performance, even at home. Only on rare occasions did the performance stop, and almost all of those occasions were precipitated by Astoria, who had never been one to try to fake anything.

Malfoy Manor was also quiet. It had been since Scorpius' birth, long past the days when Voldemort and his Death Eaters had used it as their own.

Today, the house saw few, if any, visitors. The occasional Greengrass was permitted inside, but even that was rare, with Scorpius typically seeing that side of his family when he visited their homes. By and large, the only people who stepped foot in the mansion were Malfoys.

Narcissa was in the front hall as soon as they'd stepped in the door. She clutched Scorpius to her chest for a moment before releasing him, but it was still quiet, as she hardly said a word. That had been Grandmother Narcissa's way since Scorpius had known her. She expressed her love for him in various ways, yet it felt like something that wasn't to be discussed and almost something to be hidden away.

No, what she did want to talk about was more pressing business that would affect the family.

"You've befriended the Potter boy."

It wasn't a question, and Scorpius cringed as soon as he heard it. The judgment was clear in Narcissa's voice. From the beginning, Scorpius had been more concerned with how Narcissa would react than he was either of his parents, but he'd been hoping that his own father's hesitance would prevent her from even finding out. Apparently, that had been too good to be true.

"Yes," Scorpius whispered, unable to look her in the eye.

Her eyes scanned him up and down several times as if looking for something. Scorpius wasn't sure what. Had Albus managed to brand him in some way that he hadn't noticed?

Whatever she was looking for, she ended her assessment with a nod, looking towards Draco and ignoring Astoria, a common theme of their relationship though they lived in the same house.

"The trip to London went well?" she asked.

Draco nodded and put up with the mandatory niceties that came along with being a Malfoy.

"It did."

This answer satisfied Narcissa, who gave another nod. This was all she had to say, as she turned on her heel and disappeared down one of the halls that branched off of the entranceway.

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief at not having to further explain his choice of friends. He couldn't come up with a reason for why his grandmother hadn't scolded him like she often did when he behaved in ways 'not befitting a Malfoy'. Turning to look at his parents, Scorpius noticed the way his father looked at where his grandmother had disappeared with trepidation and the way his mother's eyes were averted towards the floor. Something had happened while he was gone. Scorpius was sure of it, and he suddenly felt even more nervous about the next time he had to face his grandmother.

Not knowing what else to do, Scorpius stood in the front hall, his trunk at his feet, until he couldn't take it anymore. He reached down and lifted his trunk, dragging it across the floor.

The commotion roused both of his parents, and Astoria tugged her wand from her robes.

"We'll need to send your trunk to your room then."

A wave of her wand, and the trunk was floating its way up the staircase. Astoria followed after it, guiding it as she went. There was no one left in the hall except Scorpius and Draco. The two of them looked at each other in trepidation.

If it was a choice between Narcissa or Draco, Scorpius would always choose his father, which was perhaps odd when his grandmother was more willing to show affection in her own muted ways. She was also more likely to yell at him. Narcissa was continuously annoyed with Scorpius' behavior. The fact that he'd done nothing to warrant anger seemed to be what annoyed her the most.

Draco, on the other hand, rarely showed much affection for his son, yet he did in strange ways that Scorpius had recently begun to pick up on. Aside from Astoria, Draco was the one person in the family who hadn't expressed doubts that Scorpius was a 'real' Malfoy. Scorpius wasn't sure that his father knew how important that was to him.

"Albus Potter was an interesting choice," Draco commented. His voice held none of the judgment Narcissa's had, though there was hesitance. His lips quirked up in a small grin, amused at the thought of his son being friends with a Potter.

Scorpius shrugged. He wasn't sure what he could say to that. It was kind of, but he hadn't chosen Albus. Albus had shown up in that train compartment and chosen him, for which Scorpius was abundantly thankful.

"You get along well then?" Draco asked. There was a hint of worry in his voice.

Scorpius nodded, but he wasn't sure what to say.

"We do," he said, feeling the need to give his father something. Otherwise the man was grasping at straws, and the last thing Scorpius wanted to do was discourage him from making conversation. "We're not that much alike personality wise, all things considered, but I guess we have similar circumstances."

Draco's eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he took in his son's words. Scorpius himself hadn't thought that through before he said it, but there was no concealing it from his father once it was out there. He would have to make of it what he could.

"I see," Draco said. For once, he had been thrown off guard enough that he could not conceal his emotions. His lips were tilted downward, and his forehead was creased in a frown.

"I suppose that would make sense," Draco continued. "Undoubtedly Albus Potter attracts his fair share of attention just like his father, eh?"

Scorpius shrugged. "You could say that, but I don't think he's much like his father at all."

Draco nodded. "No, no, I suppose a Slytherin Potter would attract a different sort of attention. Quite different from his father really."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence where Scorpius debated how to escape this conversation with his father in the least awkward way possible. Then Draco spoke again.

"I know I've never met the boy. As he was willing to befriend a Malfoy, the son of a former Death Eater," Draco averted his eyes to the floor as he always did when referencing his past, "I'm willing to suppose that he's quite different from his father. I can't say that I understand your choice of friends, Scorpius, but I won't discourage the friendship."

Draco glanced towards the doorway Narcissa had disappeared through.

"Your grandmother, however," Draco said, "will. I know you realize that. I won't argue with her; it would do no good. I do ask that you don't argue either, but you are free to disregard her advice. I'll see to it that you face no consequences."

Scorpius' throat tightened. Nothing about Draco's words was particularly touching, yet it was so unlike how his father typically responded that Scorpius worried that tears were stinging at his eyes. He blinked rapidly, willing them away. Crying was the last thing he needed. His father wouldn't know how to handle it.

"Thank you, sir," Scorpius managed to choke out.

Draco offered a slight nod, not directly looking at Scorpius.

"Now, off you go," the man said with a wave of his hand. "I have business to attend to. We'll speak again at dinner."

Scorpius hurried away, thankful for the dismissal. Dinner, with Astoria and Narcissa present, would be a far less strange affair. Scorpius would have to do nothing but answer a string of questions about life at Hogwarts in as few words as he could manage. And then listen to Grandmother Narcissa rant about "the Potter boy", but that would require no response on Scorpius' part. She wouldn't ask for it.

 **A/N: When I wrote this, I figured it was a stretch that Kreacher would still be alive, but I wanted him to be, so I just went with it. (He's going to have a somewhat important conversation with Albus in chapter 13.) But then, not too long ago, Jo tweeted about Kreacher dying at 666, which I thought was kind of funny after I'd felt conflicted over whether or not to include him in this story. But, yeah, he's in here.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 12

There had never been a time in Albus' life when he'd managed to find peace and quiet at the Burrow. There was always yelling, whether it was in annoyance or excitement. That was fine and all, but at times, Albus wanted to escape. He felt like he was too old for it, despite the fact that his cousins who were making the most noise were all older than he was.

Farther and farther Albus climbed up the Burrow's staircase, the noise echoing behind him. Eventually, he reached the top: the attic.

The smell was wretched when he lifted the trapdoor. The space was chilly in the winter air, no one bothering with heating charms for a place no one in the family entered often. That wasn't because it was out of the way. The ghoul moaning in the corner was an excellent deterrent.

The ghoul paid no attention to Albus when he entered. This was a common enough occurrence that the ghoul probably knew who was entering before Albus was in the door. It didn't matter to him; he kept moaning away.

It wasn't pleasant, but for the moment, Albus found it preferable to being around his family. Here he could get a few minutes of what would feel like rest.

So far, the holidays had been eventful in a most uneventful way. There was plenty to do, with Albus being dragged to the Burrow most days under the pretense of something important. No matter how many times Albus asked to stay home at Grimmauld Place instead, Ginny and/or Harry would give him such a disappointed look that Albus gave in and went along anyway.

He should have given up on getting out of it. Even Kreacher came along each day. That elf lived for the work he got to do each holiday season.

With a sigh, Albus settled onto the dusty floor, unconcerned about the state of his robes. The other cousins were sure to achieve much worse during one of their regular Quidditch games.

Albus opened the book he'd brought with him to the page he'd left off on. It was a book recommended to him by Scorpius, one about the Ministry's role in the Inquisition. All in all, it wasn't a book Albus would have bothered with if it weren't for Scorpius recommendation, but it was so dry of a text that deciphering it did the trick of getting Albus' mind off of his family.

Several weeks ago, Albus had promised to talk to Rose. He was supposed to calmly explain how she was making Scorpius feel, to get her to treat Scorpius like a person instead of an accessory. It shouldn't have been that difficult of a task. Albus knew what he wanted to say.

He also knew that it would lead to an argument, which was why Albus was adamant that the conversation take place when the two were alone. It was his best bet at Rose not shutting down and refusing to listen.

However, Albus had managed to forget how hectic Weasley family Christmases were. There was no speaking to someone alone. Not without some very heavy planning and a heaping dose of good luck.

There were footsteps on the stairs leading to the attic, breaking Albus out of his thoughts. He was on high alert, trying to figure out who would bother to come find him. There were two sets of footsteps, and Albus had a good idea of who the people would be when Victoire's and Teddy's heads appeared through the trapdoor.

The tension in Albus' spine loosened slightly. As far as worst case scenarios went, this wasn't one. Any number of Albus' other cousins would have been worse, but Albus couldn't say that he was thrilled at the intrusion.

Both Victoire and Teddy managed to look concerned as they glanced around the neglected attic. Victoire's worry, in particular, had a maternal air to it that had Albus rolling his eyes before she could speak.

"Nice hideaway that you've found yourself," Teddy commented. He motioned to the boxes of who knew what that lined a couple of the walls. They looked old enough to have been through quite a bit. "I can see why this is more welcoming than our company."

Albus sighed. Teddy was joking, but it was true that this attic was more welcoming than their family. Albus didn't have the nerve to say as much, knowing it would only make Victoire look more worried.

"It was quiet," was what Albus chose to say. It was the truth and a neutral enough statement. It didn't necessitate Albus revealing how irritating he happened to find their family or how little he wished to be in their presence most days. Everyone wanted quiet sometimes.

Unfortunately, Albus' words were punctuated by a particularly loud moan from the ghoul. Teddy and Victoire's presence had him more riled up than usual. The ghoul wasn't used to guests, let alone three at a time. The moaning didn't stop.

"I can see that," Teddy said with humor in his voice. "It's like being at a funeral it's so quiet in here."

Albus wished he could tell the ghoul that he felt betrayed, but it wasn't like he'd expected a ghoul to keep his promises anyway. He wasn't naive.

"You've been up here awhile," Victoire said.

Albus hadn't glanced at his watch since he sat down, but he didn't think that it had been that long, maybe half an hour at the most. Was that too much time to spend alone? Albus didn't think it was enough.

He shrugged instead of trying to explain himself. "Maybe I have. I've been reading."

Victoire and Teddy each looked at each other, frowning. Albus rarely read, and he certainly didn't read thick history books.

"Scorpius lent it to me," Albus felt the need to explain. "He enjoyed it."

There was something about the softness of Victoire's grin and the twinkle in Teddy's eyes that Albus didn't like, but he chose to ignore it.

"Well," Teddy said, taking a step towards the door, "wouldn't want to disappoint Scorpius by not finishing the book before the end of break."

"Right. I should," Albus agreed.

Teddy accepted the dismissal and began climbing back down the latter, going back to the rest of the family whom he belonged with. Victoire, however, hesitated, wringing her hands as she looked at Albus.

Albus kept his eyes trained on his book, not wanting to look Victoire in the eye, but it was difficult to pretend like he was focusing on what was on the page when he could feel her presence.

"Albus," she said, voice hesitant. Albus glanced up at her and tried not to be affected by the worry in her eyes. "Please do come down later on. We'd all like to spend time with you."

Albus' stomach tightened into knots at the honesty in Victoire's voice. He nodded, wanting to reassure her though he wouldn't have agreed with her assessment of what the others wanted. The fact that only Victoire and Teddy seemed to have noticed that he had disappeared said enough. Everyone would have been fine if Albus showed up back downstairs, but they'd be fine without him too. It didn't matter either way.

XXX

The only time Scorpius felt like Malfoy Manor was remotely hectic was when his mother declared they would have the day to bake together. Astoria loved baking, and she loved doing it the Muggle way, though she did occasionally speed up the process using her magic. She said it was more fun, and after doing it that way his entire childhood, Scorpius had to agree. There was something satisfying about eating something you'd created with your hands instead of your wand.

Every counter of the kitchen was covered in a mess, whether it was a coating of flour or a pile of dirty bowls, no space was left untouched by Scorpius and his mother's baking. Scorpius loved it, and he would love it even more when he was permitted to eat what they had created. They were only halfway through their planned goods. By the time they were done, there'd be enough there to keep Scorpius fully stocked sugar for the Christmas holidays.

He hadn't seen Narcissa all day. She had a habit of disappearing when Astoria announced that it was a baking day. Something about the process put Grandmother Narcissa off. It was probably the messiness of it. Narcissa never cared that she could clean it with a simple wave of her wand.

"Just a pinch," Astoria cautioned Scorpius as he hovered over the bowl of cake batter they were working on. This was Astoria's personal favourite, and Scorpius was determined not to screw it up by adding too much or too little of any of the necessary ingredients.

"That's right," Astoria assured him, reaching for the bowl so that she could take her turn stirring the ingredients together. She'd gotten them halfway mixed together when Draco appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, surprising both his wife and son.

Both bakers froze in their actions as they looked at him. Draco didn't make himself quite as scarce as his mother during Astoria's baking days, but he didn't often appear in the kitchen, never one to partake in the baking himself. He looked out of sorts as his eyes darted around the kitchen, taking in the mess that was antithetical to how he had been raised.

He'd never been able to see the fun in the process, but something inside of him had brought him to the kitchen. Maybe it was not seeing his son for three weeks and knowing there was limited time before he'd be back inside the gates of Hogwarts. Maybe that had given him some sense of urgency over finding ways to spend time with Scorpius that hadn't been there before.

Whatever it was, Draco was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, feeling hesitant but also resolved to participate.

"Would you like some help?" he asked.

Even Astoria, who often understood Draco's actions in a way that Scorpius failed to get, seemed surprised. While Scorpius had looked to her for guidance on how to handle such a strange situation, Astoria blinked several times in surprise before she could figure out what it was she should say.

"Of course."

Once the initial shock had passed, Astoria's face was bright, noticeably happy at this strange turn of events. She hurried forward to clasp onto Draco's forearm as if he would bolt if given the chance and tugged him into the kitchen, leading him to the bowl she had been stirring.

"Just stir this," she instructed, "until it's mixed."

Draco stared down at the bowl, perplexed. "Clockwise or counterclockwise? How many times?" he asked.

Astoria did her best to hide her grin, not wanting to discourage her husband when he had shown interest in something such as this for the first time. Scorpius had to hide his own smile in his sleeve. Thankfully, Draco wasn't looking at him.

"Remember," Astoria said gently, "this isn't magic, though it can sometimes feel like it. Stir it whichever way you like and however many stirs it takes for the ingredients to be mixed together. They should be one substance, not a bunch of different ingredients in a bowl together."

Draco nodded in understanding, face a light pink. He dutifully stirred the bowl, staring down at it as if he would ruin everything if he didn't pay close attention. Astoria watched him fondly for a moment before she took a step back and began gathering the ingredients she needed for their next project: brownies.

Scorpius didn't stop staring at his father until his mother placed an egg in his hand.

XXX

The days before Christmas were dragging on in a way that Albus never could have imagined. While James had complained the year before that the Christmas holidays had passed too quickly, Albus was finding the opposite to be true. He was finding the constant trips to the Burrow exhausting. Putting up with the insults thrown his way daily at school was easier than finding new ways to escape his cousins and aunts and uncles.

One particular day, Albus was in the orchard. For whatever reason, the cousins had decided that today wasn't a good one for Quidditch, and the spot typically rife with Weasleys was deserted, allowing Albus to view it as a safe place to set up camp for the day.

Still, he was a little jumpy, not believing that James wouldn't drag the others out there for a game at some point, so he realized immediately when someone was approaching the orchard. Albus braced himself once more for an onslaught of family, brooms in hand, but instead, he was faced with Teddy Lupin, no broomstick in sight. Once again, Teddy's presence was a bit of a relief, as it wasn't the worst case scenario, but once again, Albus wished Teddy wasn't standing in front of him.

"Reading again?" Teddy asked.

"I haven't finished the book yet," Albus pointed out. He'd only made it a couple of chapters since Teddy and Victoire had found him in the attic a couple of days ago. There was no way he was going to finish before the end of break, even if it was his excuse for getting away from his cousins every day.

Teddy nodded and, to Albus' dismay, settled underneath a tree that was close to the one Albus had claimed. The sign that Teddy was in this conversation for the long haul caused Albus' grip on his book to tighten. He wondered if he could get away with keeping his gaze on the book, discouraging conversation, but he knew it would never work. If Teddy had something to say, he would say it.

"Look," Teddy said. "I know you want me to leave, but Victoire and I were talking, and I started thinking about some things…" Teddy trailed off and sighed, running a hand over his face. He looked indecisive about something, and he'd managed to capture Albus' full attention for the first time. The book lay forgotten on his lap.

Albus' brown knitted together in confusion, waiting for Teddy to explain himself.

With another sigh, Teddy tugged an object out from a pocket in his robes. At first, Albus was confused as to what notes Teddy could have taken that he needed to read in Albus' presence, but as Teddy unfolded the parchment, recognition dawned on Albus.

"What do you have the Marauder's Map out for?" he asked. "We're not at Hogwarts. It's not going to help with anything."

"I'm not getting it out to use it," Teddy explained, which only made Albus more confused than he had been before. "That's the point, isn't it? I'm never at Hogwarts anymore. I don't have a use for the Map."

"Neither do I." Albus somewhat regretted how petulant the words sounded. He was panicking and wanted to do everything in his power to avoid taking the Map. He hadn't realized that he was against the idea of having it until the opportunity had presented itself. Suddenly, the Map felt...scary. "I'd never use it. I can't take it."

Teddy didn't lower his hand. Albus wished he would to humor him if nothing else.

"Al, you're still at Hogwarts. At least you have a better chance of using it than I will. Maybe it just sits in your trunk for the next seven years. So what? It won't be put to better use sitting at my flat."

Teddy's words may have made logical sense, but they did nothing to calm the panic that had settled in the pit of Albus' stomach.

"I don't want it," he repeated, having no idea of what else to say but knowing he didn't want that map.

Teddy had grown visibly frustrated, and he had yet to lower the hand that held the Map. Albus' heart beat faster and faster in his chest as he prepared himself for a fight that he didn't want to have.

"James has the invisibility cloak," Teddy said, taking an angle that Albus hadn't been expecting. "I don't want to give him the Map too. Just take it, Albus."

Albus shook his head firmly, refusing to glance down at the Map.

"Why shouldn't James get the Map? He'd use it. Hell, he'd love that map. Think about how much easier it'd make the sneaking around he already does. He'd do the Marauders proud, he would. It would be what they'd want for the Map. I wouldn't be."

The anger in Teddy's features dissipated. There was silence between them as Teddy watched Albus as if not believing what he'd heard. Albus' book had managed to capture his attention again, but he couldn't have told anyone what it said on the page. The words blurred together as he blinked back tears that he uselessly hoped Teddy couldn't see.

"Albus," Teddy said slowly, "what's the real reason you won't take the Map from me?"

Albus looked up far enough to see that Teddy had finally lowered the Map, but it was still in sight, and Albus glanced away as if it would blind him like the sun.

"I don't deserve it. I just don't. I may be a Potter, but I'm a Potter who's in Slytherin, which is as good as not being a Potter at all. I shouldn't take that map. Could you imagine their faces if they knew I had it? Teddy, I'm named after the guy my grandfather hated the most."

Teddy slumped against the tree he sat in front of. His mind was working on overdrive as he tried to figure out how to explain to Albus what he thought.

"I don't think your grandfather hated Snape the most." Albus shot Teddy a sharp look, causing Teddy to shrug. "I'm serious. There was Voldemort, who, you know, did kill him. And he probably hated Peter Pettigrew quite a lot when he realized they'd been betrayed, even if it was only for a few seconds. I mean, that was really shitty…"

"This is the worst possible attempt at trying to make someone feel better."

But there were grins on both of their faces, despite the darkness of the conversation. Teddy allowed himself to laugh for a moment before he continued speaking again.

"The point is, I don't think you should be worried about what any of the Marauders would think about you having the Map. You're as much a Potter as James or Lily or your dad. Even your grandfather. You deserve this map at least as much as James does. You might deserve it more actually."

Albus could do nothing but stare at Teddy. He wasn't sure what that last bit had meant, about him deserving the Map more than James. Of course he didn't deserve the Map more than his brother who was the epitome of everything a Potter should be. Albus could imagine his James' anger if he learned that Albus had been offered the Map instead of him. He'd see what Albus could see.

When Albus didn't appear like he was going to take the Map, Teddy spoke again.

"Look, Albus, I'm serious. You're getting this map whether you like it or not. Do what you want with it, but you're taking it."

"I'm a Slytherin–"

"Stop saying that as if it's a reason you shouldn't take it. You do remember that I'm a Hufflepuff, don't you? I'm not a Gryffindor if that's what you think the problem is. No one cares. Take the Map."

He punctuated his words by pushing the parchment towards Albus once more. It was becoming abundantly clear that Teddy wasn't going to take no for an answer, and the only way that Albus was getting rid of him was by taking the Map.

So, he reached out and took the parchment. Part of him wanted to rip the Map out of Teddy's hands to emphasize his anger, but he couldn't bring himself to possibly damage it. He had a feeling that, even if he magically repaired it, the guilt would stick with him for far too long.

Teddy stood up as soon as Albus had taken the Map, not wanting to give the younger boy an opportunity to hand it back.

"I know what sorts of things you're thinking, Albus," Teddy said, giving the boy a sad look as he hovered at the edges of the orchard. "But you'll get past it. Trust me. Everyone goes through a time where they feel like they don't fit in anywhere, even in their own family. It passes nine times out of ten. It'll pass for you too, and you'll be thankful that you have that map."

Albus scoffed as Teddy disappeared through the trees in the direction of the Burrow, back off to spend time with the family that he fit in with far more than Albus ever had. "It'll pass." Yeah, right. It wasn't as if Albus had decided on a whim one day that he didn't fit in with his family. The belief was firmly rooted in past experience. It was fact. He'd accepted it. Teddy was an idiot if he thought he understood Albus' situation better than Albus himself.

For the first time, Albus allowed himself to inspect the Map. Despite being a piece of parchment, the Map had held itself together well over the past several decades. Albus realized that it must have been magically protected. He wasn't going to test his theory, but he thought there was a good chance that he couldn't successfully tear it if he tried.

He didn't want this map, yet there it was in his hands. He shoved it into a pocket in his robes, not daring to say the magical words and see Hogwarts form across the page. He never would.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This is the only chapter of the story that Scorpius doesn't appear in. I'll go ahead and apologize for that now. Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 13

Christmas Day itself passed by uneventfully. Albus dutifully sat through a Christmas breakfast with his parents and siblings. He travelled to the Burrow with his family and spent the rest of the day there. He opened what presents he was given and thanked the appropriate people for them, no matter how less than thrilled he was.

Mostly, he zoned out and ignored what his family was doing around him. No one seemed to notice, too caught up in their own excitement to worry about what mood Albus was in.

Albus had foolishly hoped that this year would be the year his parents decided to turn Boxing Day into a quieter affair at Grimmauld Place. Many of the Weasleys spent the day with the family of their spouse. It was how it had always been. Ron and Hermione dragged their children to the Grangers' house. Percy took his kids to Audrey's parents. And so on.

Albus didn't have another side of his family, and his parents compensated by dragging them back to the Burrow.

There were much fewer people at the Burrow for most of the day, but somehow, many of the cousins wound up back there anyway, just like they did most days of the holidays. Albus failed to understand how so many of the Weasleys couldn't seem to leave this place for extended periods of time.

When Rose showed up with her family, Albus wasn't surprised, but he did feel his nerves beginning to make him feel a little queasy. So far, over the course of the holiday, he hadn't gotten a chance to speak with her about what he had to before they went back to Hogwarts. There were always too many other people around, and Albus didn't like the idea of asking Rose to talk privately while their cousins were around.

With it being Boxing Day, however, Albus was running out of time to speak with her, and he couldn't bring himself to break his promise to Scorpius no matter how difficult it felt to speak to Rose.

That was why Albus knew that he had to confront her that day. He was wasting time otherwise. There were no good excuses.

Rose appeared surprised when Albus walked straight towards her. He'd headed her off as she started to go outside, probably to the orchard where James, Roxanne, and Fred had already started a game of Quidditch.

"Can we talk?" Albus asked.

This shouldn't have been a strange request. Albus and Rose spoke at school all the time, of course. Why should they not do so over the holidays? Yet Albus felt strange asking the question, and Rose was perplexed to hear it. They hadn't spoken much since they'd left Hogwarts.

"Sure," she agreed easily.

Without giving Rose much of a response, Albus turned and began ascending the stairs. Rose followed after him, not asking any questions until they were halfway up the staircase.

"Al, where are we going?"

"The attic," Albus answered.

"Is that where you go when you disappear?" Albus didn't answer, just kept climbing. "I don't like the ghoul. Can't we find another empty room?"

There were plenty of empty rooms. All of the previously occupied bedrooms of the upper floors remained much as they had been when their previous owner had left them. These days they were all spare bedrooms for anyone who stayed the night, and some of them had been converted into storage rooms, though they retained their beds.

Often, when the house was full and the weather not great, these rooms would fill up with the people who couldn't fit downstairs, meaning they were never Albus' first choice as a hideaway.

"No, I think we should go to the attic."

Albus didn't glance back to see the frown on Rose's face. No matter how much she didn't like it, she followed him all the way up the attic, and despite pinching her nose as she entered, she didn't utter another complaint about the ghoul.

Instead, she asked, "What did you want to talk about?" once they'd settled onto the dusty floor.

Albus sighed, wishing he could delay this moment a little longer.

"Scorpius and I were talking back at Hogwarts," Albus began, "and there was some, er, stuff that I wanted to talk to you about."

Rose's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Stuff? About what? Is it the bullying?"

That last question held a hint of anger, and Albus was quick to shake his head. The last thing he needed was for Rose to start ranting about bullies and get them off track.

"Not exactly," Albus continued. "Actually, it was more about things between us. You know, me, you, and Scorpius."

"What are you talking about, Al?"

There was a hint of nervousness in Rose's eyes.

"You see, Rose, Scorpius and I both think that you're, well, using Scorpius more as something to show off than anything else."

There was a long moment of silence where Rose's expression went through a range of emotions. Albus remained frozen, watching her as his stomach continuously tightened. He'd known she'd get angry, and despite knowing that he could handle it, that he'd seen her like this before, Albus was dreading what he knew was coming next.

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about? Me using Scorpius as a prop? What's wrong with you, Albus? Why would you accuse me of something like that?"

Her voice rose higher with each question, and Albus cringed as he leaned away from her anger.

"Because it's true. I know you don't want to admit it, Rose, but you do walk around with him as if he's this shiny object that you need everyone to see and feel impressed by. It's obvious to anyone who bothers to pay attention."

Rose's face was a deep shade of red that Albus had only seen on a few occasions, none of which had ended well. He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm as Rose fumed. There were few possible catastrophes worse than getting as worked up as Rose was and clashing with her.

After struggling to come up with something to say for several long moments, Rose pushed herself to her feet, angrily knocking the dust off of her robes.

"I can't believe this." It was difficult to tell whether her words were for Albus or herself. "I can't believe that you and Scorpius would doubt my friendship. At least Scorpius hasn't known me for long, Albus, but you have. You know me better than almost anyone, or at least I thought you did. If you're going to accuse me of a thing like that, then clearly you don't know me at all.

"The idea that I would pretend to be friends with Scorpius just to parade him around for the rest of the school is idiotic. Do you really think I would put up with the comments I get from the other Gryffindors if I wasn't his friend? No, no, I wouldn't. I just–"

She cut herself off with a loud growl and spun around to the door of the attic before Albus could respond.

He thought Rose was finished and was prepared for her to slam the door on her way out, but at the last second, Rose paused, glaring up at him from where her head peaked through the floor.

"I hope you know that I never want to speak to you again, Albus, and I mean it."

Her words had caught him enough off guard that he wasn't prepared for the door slam that followed. Albus jumped, and his heartbeat took a minute to calm. Surely someone downstairs would ask Rose what had caused the commotion. He wondered what she would tell them, if she would turn the others to her side or if they'd stay out of it.

The larger a family, the fewer secrets it was possible to maintain. Someone always saw something, and someone always talked.

Now that he was alone, the silence rang in Albus' ears. The ghoul was oddly silent, blinking at Albus as if Rose's anger had shocked him too.

XXX

The Potters continued to frequently travel to the Burrow for the rest of the break. At least, James and Lily did, even when Harry and Ginny were at work. With his parents often gone, Albus managed to get out of visiting more often than he had earlier in the break. He'd never been so thankful for Kreacher, who provided a wonderful excuse to use when he wanted to insist that he was fine at Grimmauld Place without an adult. Kreacher was there after all; there was no way Kreacher would let him do anything against the rules.

And he wouldn't. Kreacher was taking his job as Albus' watcher more seriously than Albus had expected him to. When he wasn't tailing him, there were consistent check-ins throughout the day. Each time, Kreacher would ask if Albus needed anything, but the young boy could tell that the house elf was checking to guarantee his innocence too.

With nothing else to do, Albus found himself in the kitchen one day towards the end of break. Only a few more days and he would be gone, but for the moment, he had the company of Kreacher, who was busying himself with polishing the family's silverware.

"Master Albus looks bored, he does," Kreacher commented, startling Albus out of their silence.

Albus sighed, leaning his head onto his hand and going back to staring at the wall.

"That's because I am. There's nothing to do."

"Master Albus always found plenty to do before Hogwarts. Kreacher thinks that Hogwarts has made Grimmauld Place seem too quiet for Master Albus. Kreacher understands. Kreacher got used to the quiet once, and then Kreacher had to get used to noise. It's hard, Master Albus."

Albus sometimes wondered if there had been a point in time when Kreacher's ramblings made sense. For most of Albus' life, the house elf had gone on and on about things that did nothing but confuse those around him. They were lucky when there were distinguishable sentences.

Because of this, Albus often found it easier to ignore Kreacher rather than try to make sense of what he said. Today, however, he couldn't help but tune back in when he once again heard Kreacher use his name. The elf wasn't looking at him, too busy polishing the silverware, and Albus couldn't tell if the words were meant for him or if they were the elf's own personal mumblings.

"But Master Albus isn't sad because it's quiet. No. Master Albus has become darker since starting Hogwarts. Yes." Part of him wanted to snap at Kreacher, but he refrained. "Master Albus doesn't want to talk to his family anymore. Kreacher knows it's making Master Harry and Mistress Ginny worried. It is."

Albus watched the elf carefully. The fact that the elf would comment on such things struck Albus. Even if Kreacher was wrong, something had to have happened that made him believe that Harry and Ginny were worried.

Kreacher's mumbling grew quieter, definitely meant for himself and not Albus. As he sat there at the kitchen table, Albus tried to picture what it was that Kreacher had seen while he was away at Hogwarts. Kreacher managed to finish with the knives and had moved onto the goblets by the time Albus' mind had drifted to Kreacher's past.

Kreacher hadn't always been a house elf for the Potters. Once, he had served the Blacks. Albus had always known that, but he'd never thought about it. One rarely thought about those around them having lives before they knew them. Now, though, Albus remembered another piece of information: The Blacks had been one of those families obsessed with blood. They'd all been Slytherins except for his father's godfather, Sirius Black.

"Kreacher," Albus said, causing the elf to pause in his scrubbing. He slowly turned to look at Albus, and for once, his gaze was one of an elf fully aware of his surroundings.

"That locket," Albus continued, pointing at the locket that had hung around Kreacher's neck since before Albus was born. "It belonged to the Blacks, right?"

He was having trouble remembering the story behind it, though he was sure he'd heard it at some point when he'd asked why Kreacher refused to take the thing off.

Kreacher nodded eagerly. He was pleased that someone had taken an interest in his most prized possession.

"It was Master Regulus' locket. Master Harry gave it to Kreacher nineteen years ago. Kreacher has worn it since."

Now Albus could remember a little more. Regulus had been the one to steal the real horcrux from Voldemort, replacing it with the fake currently around Kreacher's neck. Harry had given Kreacher the fake once he'd told his story. The old elf had all but worshipped his previous master.

"What was it like serving a family like the Blacks?" Albus asked. "They weren't like us, were they?"

Kreacher found Albus' question amusing, and the grin that spread across his face looked somewhat terrifying to Albus, who looked away as Kreacher chuckled.

"They weren't, Master Albus. Kreacher would say they were very much different indeed."

Kreacher sighed in the wistful way of someone remembering fond memories of the past. It was something Albus would never understand. The Blacks weren't supposed to have been the type of people you mourn for.

"Kreacher never thought he'd serve a Potter," Kreacher continued. "Not even after Master Sirius befriended one or when Master Harry first came to Grimmauld Place. Kreacher's Mistress Black would be angry if she knew, Master Albus. Sometimes it makes Kreacher sad even now. Kreacher doesn't like to think about it.

"Kreacher wishes Mistress Black would be okay with him serving the Potters."

"But she hated them," Albus said simply. He knew as much from what little he'd been told on the matter. It didn't take much knowledge of the wizarding world to flesh it out in your mind. The blood obsessed pureblooded matriarch, horrified at anyone within her family associating with those she perceived as blood traitors.

Kreacher nodded. There was sadness in his eyes.

"Mistress Black hated any witch or wizard who she was supposed to hate as a Black," Kreacher said. It was a carefully worded answer that had come from years of Kreacher working to align the worldviews of both families he had served.

"Kreacher, who did you prefer serving more? The Blacks or the Potters?"

Kreacher's wide, blinking eyes stared at Albus.

"Kreacher does not understand Master Albus' question. Kreacher loyally serves the House of Potter just as he did the House of Black."

"Right, but who did you like more?"

Kreacher continued to watch Albus in confusion. Even after years of being paid for his work (letting the money pile up in his quarters unused) and being exposed to Hermione Granger's beliefs on house elf freedom, Kreacher had held onto his core beliefs about what it meant to be a house elf. They'd been too drilled into him from a young age for him to believe otherwise.

He was loyal. There was never a thought about liking the family he served. He was devoted, and it was kind of sad to Albus once he'd been forced to think about it. Kreacher had been around since Albus was born, and it was difficult to see him as anything but a staple of the Potter household, a loyal servant to the Potter family who didn't know how to respond when asked about liking his masters.

Just when Albus had given up on getting an actual answer to his question, Kreacher spoke again. His back was to Albus as he shone the silverware, and once again, Albus wasn't sure if the words were meant for him or not.

"Kreacher does wish Master Harry hadn't removed the heads of Kreacher's ancestors." They'd been relegated to a small area of the cellar in a compromise between Kreacher and Harry before Albus had been born. "Kreacher wishes he could have the Black family honour of having his head on the wall, but Kreacher knows Master Harry won't allow it, and he honours Master Harry's wishes. Kreacher thinks Master Harry would be sad about beheading him, and Kreacher doesn't wish to upset Master Harry."

Albus shook his head, giving up on communicating with the ancient house elf. No matter how strong of a grip on reality Kreacher had, his way of thinking was so unlike a human that Albus wasn't sure they could ever understand each other.

 **A/N: Writing Kreacher's dialogue was difficult, and I'm still not sure if it's entirely right or not. Sorry if it seemed off to anyone.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 14

Both Albus and Scorpius were surprised at how thankful they were to see the Hogwarts Express once they stepped onto Platform 9 and ¾ with their families. Scorpius didn't feel as much sadness to be leaving his mother behind as he had on September first, though he still gripped her tightly before getting on the train. Albus was relieved.

Albus found Scorpius easily enough. He was in the same compartment that they had already ridden to and from Hogwarts in together.

"Hey," Albus greeted, unable to quell the large grin that formed on his face at the sight of his friend. Scorpius echoed it as he greeted his friend too.

The two boys looked at each other for a second, Albus standing in the doorway of the compartment. Neither was sure what was called for after being apart for the Christmas holidays. Scorpius itched to hug Albus, but he didn't allow himself to, choosing instead to remain seated.

Albus hovered for a few moments that felt longer than they were, then he turned to stow his trunk above the bench that was across from where Scorpius sat. Just as he'd gotten his things situated and sat down across from Scorpius, Rose's figure appeared in the corridor outside the compartment. She stopped for a second and looked inside before turning up her nose and stalking further down the train.

Sighing, Albus turned back to Scorpius, who was watching the door with a frown. Albus had been hoping to delay this conversation until further into their ride, not wanting to ruin the entire thing, but that wasn't going to be possible. Scorpius turned to look at him with a frown.

"It didn't go well," Scorpius stated. "When you didn't reveal anything in your letters, I figured, but there's my proof I guess."

Albus cringed.

"It didn't go well," he confirmed. "She, er, she got rather angry with me."

Scorpius' shoulders deflated. It tugged on Albus' heartstrings as he looked at him.

"I knew it," Scorpius said, sounding as defeated as he looked. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything to you, and I certainly shouldn't have had you talk to her. I knew it would make her angry."

Albus shook his head frantically. "That doesn't mean you should have hidden how you felt, Scorpius. Sometimes you have to risk making people angry if they're hurting you."

Scorpius cringed at the implication that Rose had been 'hurting' him, and Albus realized that he might have made a mistake in his choice of words.

"Everything would have been fine if I hadn't said anything," Scorpius said. "Rose wouldn't be angry. We'd all be friends. Instead I've made it so that your cousin isn't speaking to you, is she?"

With a sigh, Albus shook his head, but he was quick to clarify what he thought to Scorpius.

"I'm the reason she won't speak to me though. That's not your fault, Scorpius. I'm the one who talked to her. I'm the one who made her angry. Not you."

"It was about me though, and I'm the one who complained first. I shouldn't have."

"If you call that complaining, then you don't know what complaining is." Albus grinned for the first time since Rose had walked by. "You brought up what was bothering you and thought you were bothering everyone else. That's not complaining."

Scorpius shrugged off Albus' words. He was quiet for a moment, staring out the window at the countryside, before he said anything more.

"I always knew that I'd be a terrible friend." With just one sentence, Albus dreaded hearing what else Scorpius was about to tell him. "I mean, I'd never had one before. I hardly got to know kids my own age before Hogwarts. My parents felt safer keeping me close to home. I think I missed some crucial lesson about how to talk with other kids, and I'm past the point of being able to learn. I'm doomed to drive everyone away with my strangeness."

Albus couldn't stop himself from getting up and sitting beside Scorpius. Scorpius looked so upset that Albus felt like he needed to do everything in his power to cheer him up. He hesitated once more about touching his friend, but eventually, he found the courage to reach out to grip Scorpius' forearm.

"You're not driving anyone away," Albus pressed. "If anything, I drove Rose away. You didn't do anything but be nice to her. It's Rose who's to blame, not the other way around. And if you think you're driving me away soon, Scor, then you're in for a rude awakening when it's seventh year and I'm still your friend."

The smile Scorpius gave Albus made it difficult for Albus to breathe for a moment. It was so genuine and so heartbreaking in its earnestness that Albus didn't stop himself when he felt the urge to hug his best friend. Scorpius was stiff for a moment before his arms wound around Albus too, holding onto him tightly. There was something precious about the moment that neither of the boys could put into words. It was there, between them. Unspoken.

"Thank you," Scorpius whispered, chin resting on Albus' shoulder. "Even if you're the only friend I ever make, I'm okay with that."

Scorpius wanted his words to be a compliment, but Albus felt upset when he heard them. He pulled away far enough that he was able to look Scorpius in the eye. Scorpius tried to avoid making eye contact, but after a few seconds of struggle, he locked eyes with Albus, seeing it as a lost cause.

"I'm not the only friend you'll ever make," Albus assured him, taking care to make his voice as confident as possible. He was sure of that much. In less than four months, Albus already found himself inextricably tied to Scorpius Malfoy. It was impossible for Albus to believe that others wouldn't be caught in Scorpius' charm just as he had been.

"I just won't be," Albus emphasized. "You can make friends, Scorpius. You can. Let's be honest, you didn't do yourself any favours by befriending a Potter. If it weren't for me, you'd have your fair share of Slytherin friends by now."

Scorpius scoffed, pulling himself out of Albus' embrace and turning so that he was no longer facing his friend.

"I doubt it," he said. "Even if someone would have been willing to give me a chance, I would have screwed it up. I'm convinced the only reason I haven't screwed up with you is because there's something special about you that makes you immune to my strangeness."

Albus couldn't help but smirk, and he offered Scorpius a shrug of the shoulders.

"Maybe," he admitted. "I don't know. What I do know is that I like having you around, Scorpius, and I'm happy that you're my friend."

He always felt proud of himself when he managed to make Scorpius smile.

"Rose will come around," Albus continued. "Sometimes she needs time to cool down. Once she's done that, things will be fine."

Scorpius gave a short nod, not trying to argue even though he didn't believe it.

"Oh," Albus exclaimed out of nowhere. He stood up and hurriedly pulled his trunk down to the floor of the compartment, startling his owl in the process. His strange behaviour made Scorpius nervous. The blonde boy began to twist the sleeves of his robes in his hands.

"What are you doing?" he asked as Albus flipped the latch of his trunk open.

"I nearly forgot to tell you about the strangest part of the holiday." Albus shifted a bunch of his stuff to the side until he found the object that he had hidden towards the bottom. He tugged it out and rearranged everything so that he could once more shut the trunk.

"Albus," Scorpius began, confusion in his voice, "that's just a blank piece of parchment."

Albus smirked. He had to admit that the idea of sharing the Map with Scorpius left him feeling proud.

"It's not just parchment. This is the Marauder's Map."

Scorpius raised one eyebrow. "That map you and Rose were telling me about before?"

"Right, that one. The Marauders were a lot like James, Roxanne, and Fred really. They liked to play pranks. Sometime while they were at Hogwarts, they made this." Albus once again held up the Map, and this time, Scorpius looked at it with far more interest.

"This," Albus continued, "is the Marauder's Map. It shows all of Hogwarts in real time, letting you see where anyone in the castle is at any time of day."

Scorpius leaned forward in his seat until he was in danger of falling off of it, and then he moved to sit beside Albus instead, where he could examine the Map up close.

"So they used it to sneak around?" Scorpius asked, running his fingers along the creased parchment as if it were precious. He was even more impressed by the Map than Albus had believed he would be.

"They did until it got confiscated. From there, I suppose it's kind of a long story, but eventually, my dad ended up with it. He gave it to Teddy Lupin when he was eleven. Now that Teddy's graduated Hogwarts, he decided that I was the one who should get it. He practically forced it onto me."

Scorpius looked at Albus peculiarly.

"So he decided to give it to you instead of James?"

Albus felt a twinge of annoyance that Scorpius could easily see what he could.

"Yeah, he said that James already had the family invisibility cloak." Albus was thankful that Scorpius didn't ask more questions about that. Albus wasn't against him knowing, but he didn't want to talk about the Cloak. "He said that _I_ should have the Map. I don't get why. James would get more use out of it."

"Rose would love it," Scorpius said, laughing for a moment before he remembered how things currently were between them and Rose. The smile fell from his face, and he looked back at the Map.

"She would," Albus agreed, feeling his own unexpected sense of melancholy at the thought. "She'd force us to put it to use."

Scorpius nodded, trying to grin.

"I guess that without her you'll stow it away in your trunk? Unless you fancy another trip to the Shrieking Shack."

Albus wrinkled his nose.

"I'd rather not if possible. That place isn't comforting or exciting once you've been there. I don't know why Rose kept insisting on hanging out in a rundown house."

"Suppose it provides character," Scorpius said, though he was smirking.

Albus rolled his eyes, bending down to store the Map back in his trunk.

"Who knows," Scorpius continued, "we might find a use for it someday."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 15

As the new term began, it was as if Rose's brief show of friendship hadn't happened. Albus and Scorpius were right back at the beginning of the year when she'd given them the cold shoulder.

The holidays had strengthened the other Slytherins' desire to ostracize Albus, and they returned to school happy to mock him to a degree that they hadn't before. He had to deal with loudly spoken comments as he entered the Great Hall, while before little of it had taken place in front of the other Houses. Sometimes Albus would notice Gryffindors laughing along, and he thought that a hatred for him might become what managed to bring the two Houses together.

"I already feel like a Slytherin," Albus complained to Scorpius one morning as they ate breakfast. "But I don't know how I'm supposed to convince everyone else in our House that I am."

Scorpius shrugged. He'd been feeling a little nervous since Albus had first begun to express a desire to try to win the others over.

"I don't think there is a way. They don't like you because you're a Potter, and you can't change _that_. There's not much that would convince them."

That wasn't the answer Albus had wanted. It didn't help him, but he didn't have a better solution than Scorpius did.

"Little Potty," an older Slytherin taunted as he walked by. Albus rolled his eyes. That wasn't a new insult on the long list of what the Slytherins had managed to come up with. He felt the familiar annoyance bubbling up in his stomach, and he forced himself to stare at his food, not wanting the boy to get a reaction out of him.

"Still feeling brave enough to sit at the Slytherin table, I see."

Albus couldn't stop himself from responding, turning around to face the other student.

"Well, I am in Slytherin, you see, so it's where I'm supposed to be enjoying my breakfast. And I'm definitely enjoying it."

The Slytherin laughed. "Sure you are, Potty. As if you wouldn't rather be with your cousins over at the loser table." He motioned with his head towards the Gryffindor table. "How nice of you to humour us otherwise."

Albus glanced in the direction of the Gryffindor table and happened to spot Rose. She had been watching him seconds before, but she averted her eyes before they could make eye contact. Albus sighed, feeling his anger cool.

"Actually," Albus informed the boy, "I'm not speaking to Rose."

He'd succeeded in making the other Slytherin pause. Albus hadn't yet realized that they'd attracted an audience, but whispering started around them in reaction to his words. Scorpius froze as he looked around them.

"Albus," he muttered. He'd only wanted to get Albus' attention, trying to stay quiet enough that the others around them wouldn't notice, but of course, they did. A few of those sitting closest to them laughed at Scorpius' pathetic attempt to reign in his friend. Albus waved him off, gaze focused on the older Slytherin.

The boy's smirk had become even crueller than before. The way he was looking at Albus freaked Scorpius out. It was like he was impressed, and that couldn't have been a good thing.

"You finally showed that idiotic Gryffindor the door then?" the boy asked. "Actually making an attempt to be one of us, are you?"

If Albus hadn't been desperate to fit in, he would have made a comeback about how he'd been attempting to be a Slytherin all along. It was kind of why he was in the House to begin with. However, he didn't, electing to remain quiet and see what the boy would do next.

He stiffened as the boy seemed to size him up. Scorpius balled his hands into tight fists in an effort to keep them from shaking.

"Maybe there's hope for you yet," the boy continued. "Even if you are a Potter."

The boy walked away, still smirking. He threw one last glance at Albus over his shoulder, managing to look rather intimidating even from a distance, then he settled down at the Slytherin table far enough away that the crowd hid him from view.

Scorpius felt like he could breathe again, but that didn't mean his worries were gone. He watched Albus closely, not liking the look on his friend's face. A look that was prideful that he'd gotten recognition from a guy like that.

"That was what it took?" Albus said, staring down at his plate thought he wasn't really seeing it. "A Slytherin finds out that I'm not talking to Rose and suddenly I'm actually a Slytherin?"

"Albus, please don't think that much into it." Scorpius' plea was desperate. "It was one guy. I know you want to fit in, but that's not the way."

Albus looked up at his best friend, emotions warring in his eyes.

"What do you think I'm going to do?" he asked. "Stand up in the common room and tell everyone I'm not a Potter anymore? I'm not speaking to Rose. If that's the case, why shouldn't I use it to my advantage?"

For a moment, all Scorpius could do was stare at Albus in horror.

"You can't mean that."

Albus shrugged in response. Scorpius groaned.

"Albus, I don't know about you, but I'd like for Rose to not hate me for the rest of our lives, and that seems like the perfect way to make her hate both of us forever. Merlin, Rose would blame me for making you a jerk. What a great way to prove that she was right about me."

"To be honest, Rose is a jerk herself sometimes. Maybe she deserves it after what she's done."

Scorpius began repeating, "No," over and over, burying his face in his arms on the table. His plate had been pushed to the side and forgotten. Inside his head, he could see flashes of a million possible scenarios, each of them less desirable than the last.

"You can't mean that," he said once he'd lifted his head to look at Albus. "You can't. Maybe right now you do, when you're angry at Rose and want to fit in and everything. I get it. I want friends too, Albus, but you can't get them that way. That is the worst possible thing you could do."

"Worse then, I don't know, going on anti-Muggle rants for approval?"

He grinned at Scorpius, encouraging him to smile, but Scorpius did no such thing. He stared blankly at Albus until Albus' grin faltered.

"Okay, okay," Albus acquiesced, beginning to feel guilty if only because of how Scorpius had been affected. "I'm not going to renounce my family or anything. Not even Rose. And I certainly won't be going on anti-Muggle rants. That was never a real plan."

Scorpius finally gave him a small smile, and Albus returned it, feeling relieved.

"I wish there was an easy way to get them to stop though," Albus admitted.

Scorpius seized his bravery long enough to reach across the table and place his hand on top of Albus'.

"I know. I do too, but there will be better ways. There has to be."

Albus gave him a short nod before pulling his hand away and announcing that they had better get to class.

XXX

The buzz of the upcoming Quidditch match had filled the school by the end of January. Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Nothing got the school more excited year after year, even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.

Scorpius wasn't one of the students who wanted to speculate about the upcoming game between lessons. He may have been a casual Holyhead Harpies fan, but he found himself caring less about Hogwarts Quidditch. His Slytherin pride just wasn't there.

For the first half of the school year, Albus hadn't cared much about Quidditch either. The two of them had elected to spend their time in the library, alone aside from Madam Pince, instead of heading down to the Quidditch Pitch for the matches, but with a week left before the match of the year, Scorpius had known that that wouldn't be the case this time.

"Please come with me," Albus had begged several days before the game. "I'd feel like a right idiot sitting there alone, and besides, I'd only be bored without you there."

"Isn't the Quidditch itself meant to provide entertainment?" Scorpius responded dryly.

Albus shrugged. "It's supposed to, but that's not why I'm going."

Scorpius sighed, shutting his book to give Albus his undivided attention.

"Then why are you going?" he asked. "You're only going to hate it. I think you've got your feelings on Quidditch pretty well figured out, what with your mum being a retired professional Quidditch player and all."

"I said that I'd come up with a better way to prove I'm a Slytherin, and this is the best I've managed to come up with."

And then he'd looked at Scorpius with puppy dog eyes, begging him to come along, so Scorpius wound up sitting in the Slytherin stands surrounded by screaming Hogwarts students on a frigid January day.

He and Albus really did make a pair. Albus had gone all out in his attempts to prove himself to the others. Everything he wore was green, from the robes he must have had transfigured to the scarf to the face paint he'd smeared on his face, having decided that it was a good idea for some reason. Scorpius made quite the contrast beside him, sitting in his usual black robes with the Slytherin tie and crest the only markings of House pride.

Their fashion choices weren't the only differences though. Scorpius remained seated and quiet, watching with disinterest clear on his face. Despite feeling the same lack of enthusiasm, Albus constantly rose to his feet, cheering louder than anyone around them.

While the other Slytherins had watched Albus with wariness when he'd first sat down, that had quickly been forgotten in the intensity of the game.

The teams were evenly matched, with Slytherin and Gryffindor continuously one upping each other and managing to keep the score about even at any given time. It was a game where the capture of the snitch was of the utmost importance.

There was no time for animosity amongst your own House when a game of Quidditch was on the line. A win or loss for Slytherin could sway the entire outcome of the Quidditch Cup.

Slytherin hadn't won either the Quidditch or House Cups in several years, and tensions were high in the hopes that this would finally be their year. Even Albus began getting into it after the first fifteen minutes of the game. The more he cheered, the more his heart rushed when one of the Slytherin chasers tossed the Quaffle towards a hoop, the more his stomach dropped when the Gryffindors zoomed towards Slytherin's hoops.

"Bloody hell!" Albus exclaimed as the Slytherin keeper snatched the Quaffle out of the air less than a second before it whooshed through a hoop. It took several deep breaths for Albus to feel like his heart wasn't beating out of his chest. "This is intense," he muttered to himself.

It was a rush he hadn't experienced before despite the countless Quidditch matches he'd been dragged to by his family. Your mum being Britain's number one Quidditch reporter meant attending a lot of games in the name of work, and when your dad, brother, and sister were all massive fans too, those matches had to become family outings. Albus had always hated it, finding them to be nothing more than long periods of time where he sat around in boredom. He'd never felt a connection to a team like he did to Slytherin. He'd never felt invested in the outcome, but now he was beginning to understand what the rest of his family saw in Quidditch.

Two minutes later, Slytherin had scored again, giving themselves a slight lead. Scorpius rolled his eyes as everyone around him jumped to their feet. Albus was even jumping up and down in joy, and Scorpius couldn't help but watch him instead of the game. This was a new side of Albus, probably even to Albus himself, and Scorpius had to admit that he was enthralled.

"That was incredible!" Albus yelled.

"I know!" another Slytherin replied.

Albus looked to his side to see a short black girl standing a little way down the row in front of him. She turned her head over her shoulder and smiled at Albus, just as excited as he was about the goal. He thought he recognized her as a third year though he'd never spoken to her before.

"Jason is brilliant," the girl continued, referencing the Slytherin chaser who had scored the goal. He also happened to be captain of the team. "He's the reason we've managed to come this close to the Cup. Our last captain was terrible."

The first year Slytherins had heard plenty about the last captain. Albus thought he must have been as unpopular as he was, if not more so, after leading Slytherin through two terrible Quidditch seasons in a row.

"I've heard that," Albus replied, shocked that a Slytherin other than Scorpius was speaking to him and hadn't yet shown any signs of turning against him. The girl smiled and pushed past the person she sat beside to stand in front of Albus. She held out her hand for Albus to take, and he shook it despite his shock.

"I'm Rachel Bennett," the girl introduced herself.

"Albus Potter."

"I know who you are," she said with a smirk. "Everyone does."

She looked around at the crowd. Everyone was so engrossed in the game that no one was paying attention to the fact that someone was speaking to the outsider. Rachel turned back to him.

"To be honest, I think everyone else is being ridiculous. I was as shocked as anyone when you were put in Slytherin. I didn't think the Hat could have been right at first. It seemed like a joke to put a Potter in Slytherin, but I never held it against you even if I had a go at the Hat. Since then I've started to believe you're a Slytherin though."

She took in Albus' overly green attire before her eyes fell on Scorpius, still sitting on the bench beside Albus. Scorpius was startled at being noticed. He hadn't expected her to acknowledge his presence, but upon seeing him, she smirked in amusement.

"The first clue was when you befriended a Malfoy," she said. "No Gryffindor would do that." She turned back to Albus, watching him closely. "Did you just decide to rebel?"

"I-I don't know," Albus said, stumbling over his words. "I don't think I made a choice. I, um, I was already a Slytherin, I think."

Despite the jumbled nature of Albus' speech, Rachel gave him a short nod of acceptance.

Cheering erupted around them, and Rachel glanced over her shoulder at the Quidditch players zooming around the pitch. None of the three students clustered together could have told you what had happened, but Slytherin scoring another goal would have been a good guess.

Rachel offered Albus one last smile and connected her gaze with Scorpius for a moment before she turned back around, immediately jumping up and down with one of her friends in an act of celebration.

Albus was stunned, and for the first time during the game, Scorpius decided to stand from the bench.

"I told you there'd be another way," he said in Albus' ear just loudly enough to be heard over the commotion.

The two boys looked at each other, smiles as wide as those of the other Slytherins, but they weren't smiling about the Quidditch match. They hardly even registered that Slytherin had won the match, their seeker catching the snitch as the Gryffindor seeker's hand was centimetres away.

Albus nodded and reached out to hug Scorpius briefly. Scorpius stiffened, unprepared for the contact. The Slytherins around them were embracing each other in celebration, and the boys' own happiness was ignored.

"Thank you," Albus whispered into Scorpius' ear before releasing him.

Scorpius' brow wrinkled as he looked at Albus.

"What are you thanking me for? I didn't do anything."

Albus laughed.

"You did though. You convinced me not to make a mistake. You know, Scorpius, it's hilarious that my family could look down on you for being a Malfoy, that they'd think you have no morals. Because I'm starting to think that you have a better conscience than I have."

A particularly enthusiastic Slytherin elbowed Albus in the back on accident, drawing Albus' attention away from Scorpius. He began cheering with the others as he realized what was happening. He didn't see Scorpius lower himself back down onto the bench or the way the blonde boy kept looking at him as if in awe.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 16

A month passed without Rose glancing their way. Albus had taken the ignorance route and begun to pretend that he didn't have a cousin who was ignoring him. It was odd, really, when every other Weasley cousin was acknowledging his presence more than they had before. Albus wasn't sure why that was, but suddenly, they were talking to him in the corridors every chance they got.

Scorpius wasn't taking Rose's rejection as well as Albus was, growing increasingly dejected as Rose showed no signs of lightening up.

"Would it be that difficult to just, I don't know, say hello to her?" Scorpius asked for what must have been the millionth time over the last several days.

Albus groaned, throwing his head back to rest on the chair he sat in. Somehow, the two boys had managed to get seats right in front of the fire and none of the members of their House had come over to chase them off. Albus wanted to enjoy it, but Scorpius was intent on talking about Rose. Again.

"I could, but I don't want to. And I don't know why you want me to either. Rose was terrible, Scorpius. We're better off without her."

Scorpius frowned, staring into the fire.

"She wasn't terrible to me," Scorpius said. He sounded vulnerable enough that Albus' annoyance was forgotten, his brow knitting together. "How she acted wasn't ideal, sure. I didn't enjoy the fact that she wanted to show off our friendship all the time, but she wasn't...terrible. She was becoming rather nice, and Albus, I think Rose and I could be friends if she'd give it another chance. If _you'd_ give _her_ another chance."

For a moment, Albus thought he would agree with Scorpius and go talk to Rose, but then the rational side of his brain kicked in.

"No, I won't talk to her." The hope in Scorpius' eyes vanished, and Albus sighed, hating that he was doing such a thing to his best friend. "I'm sorry, Scorpius, but I won't give into her like that. It's what she wants. Rose is the one who screwed up. Not me, and certainly not you. It should be her who apologizes first, and I'm not going to let her get out of that."

Scorpius nodded, knowing that he would never convince Albus differently.

XXX

Rose may not have spoken to them since Christmas, but Scorpius knew how to find her. He'd seen her in the library often over the past month, but he'd done nothing but deflate whenever she saw him and turned away. Today, he wouldn't settle for that. Not without trying first.

Scorpius had come to the library with a purpose, and that purpose wasn't to find another book on healing potions for the essay Setwell had assigned.

That seemed to be the assignment Rose was working on, if Scorpius had to guess, as he found her in the potions section of the library. She sat at a table with several open books taking up the space around her. She was so busy scribbling on her parchment that she didn't notice Scorpius approaching until there was no mistaking that he was heading for her.

Her eyes widened when she noticed him, but once the initial shock wore off, they narrowed instead. Scorpius took several deep breaths, steeling himself. He couldn't chicken out. He'd gotten this far; he had to say what he had planned to say, no matter how Rose responded.

"Can I sit down?" Scorpius motioned to the chair across from Rose. "We need to talk."

Maybe he shouldn't have given her an opening to shoo him off. If she said no, there was nothing he could do. They were in the library and any attempt to argue on his part would bring Madame Pince down on them, and then any chance Scorpius had to talk to her would be over.

He stood there for several seconds while Rose looked at him. Once he'd ascertained that she wasn't going to answer his question, he pulled a chair out from the table. He lowered himself into it, giving Rose plenty of time to protest. She didn't, and he figured that meant that she was at least going to let him talk, even if she didn't listen.

It was difficult to make himself look at her. He tried making eye contact, but he had to look away in order to get out the words he needed to. He settled on focusing on the shelves of books behind her, reading the text on the spines.

He took several deep breaths to prepare himself before he spoke once more.

"Look. I'm going to be honest with you right now because I don't know how else to do this. If you choose to ignore everything I say, then fine, but I won't be able to feel good about myself if I don't at least let you know what I'm thinking."

Nothing about Rose's expression gave anything away. She didn't seem to have any particular feelings about what Scorpius had to say.

That wasn't going to stop him.

"I've been thinking about, well, a lot since January. Just about everything that happened has played through my head over and over again, and I've tried to think of things I could have done to make it better. I realised, pretty early on—right after I realised you were angry I think—that I should have said something to you myself instead of asking Albus to do it. Then, at least, you would only be angry at me and not Albus too. Because it doesn't seem fair that I dragged him into this and made it so that his own cousin was mad at him when he hadn't done anything. But I did, and here we are, with me trying to make it better. If I can."

Rose felt her outer shell beginning to crack as she listened to Scorpius' earnest words. She sighed, and it was enough to make Scorpius pause.

"I appreciate you trying," Rose admitted, unable to keep up the lie any longer. She felt exhausted from maintaining her anger, or at least the pretense of anger, for so long. "But I'm not sure if you saying something to me would have made it better. In fact, it might have made it worse, what with me not trusting you and all."

Scorpius cringed at the reminder but nodded his head.

"Right. That's true I suppose. I don't know. I guess I couldn't stop myself from thinking there was something I could have done."

He sighed, looking down that the marks that countless students had left in the wood of the table. Despite how quickly the animosity had dried up, it felt like there was much left unsaid between them. Scorpius wasn't sure if he could work up the nerve to say what more he had been thinking about before coming to find Rose, but once again, he figured that he had to try.

"I never had friends until Albus."

Rose didn't appear surprised at his admission, and Scorpius felt his cheeks heat up at the reminder of how obvious that was. He tried to ignore that as he continued.

"When you and Albus walked into that compartment on the Hogwarts Express, I had no idea what to do. For years, I'd been dreaming that Hogwarts would be where I found friends, and finally, I had an opportunity. But I didn't have a clue what to do. I don't think I actually expected to make friends. Just hoped. So I was shocked when Albus decided to stay in that compartment. And incredibly thankful. Probably more thankful than I've ever been for anything in my life."

He was quiet for a moment, Rose not saying a word either, before he scoffed at himself, trying to diffuse the emotion from the air. He felt exposed, and Rose Granger-Weasley might not have been the safest person to expose himself too.

But she offered Scorpius a grin for the first time since he'd begun his story, a silent assurance that this was strictly between them.

"It was pretty obvious that you were clueless," she quipped, but the jab didn't have any real animosity. It was merely a joke. Scorpius smiled back.

Rose sighed, her face turning serious once more.

"I should have been easier to you on the train," she admitted. "It was hard to believe you were really a Malfoy once I was listening to you stumble over your words. But I'd heard all these things about the Malfoys since I was a baby, so at first, I figured you had to be hiding something. Maybe you were just a good actor."

"Yeah… Not so much."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I get that now, obviously, but it took a while."

They fell into silence again. Rose looked down at her essay, but she didn't make a move to pick up her quill.

"I do feel bad about how I made you feel," she admitted for the first time. The whisper of it was so low that Scorpius almost missed it. "I never meant to. I didn't even realize I was doing it, but I think I reacted as strongly as I did when Albus said something because somewhere inside I already knew it was true and didn't want to admit it."

"I'm willing to forget about it if you are," Scorpius offered.

Rose watched him for a moment as if she needed to assess her options. After a moment, she nodded, giving Scorpius a hesitant smile.

"Okay."

Scorpius returned her smile, but it was with wariness.

"But this agreement is only valid if we try to do better this time than we did last time," he said. "Because I may regret what I did, but you did also make me feel kind of terrible before, and I'd appreciate it if we could not go through that again. I'd like a second friend, but I want to feel like an actual friend."

This caused Rose to pause. She chewed on her lip for a few seconds before nodding.

He felt even better when Rose began engaging him in conversation about healing potions.

XXX

Scorpius hurried across the castle, feeling like he had an important mission that he had to accomplish. He kind of did, in a way, depending on what one saw as important. Truthfully, this might have been more important to Scorpius than it was Albus, but Scorpius couldn't shake the belief that he was doing a good thing on Albus' behalf as he rushed through the common room, no Albus in sight, and down the stairs to their dormitory.

The hangings around Albus' bed were drawn shut, so Scorpius knew Albus had to be there.

"Albus," he called, not wanting to startle the boy by throwing back the hangings, though it was tempting in his excitement. He hurried across the room, hoping the boy wasn't asleep, as Albus pushed the hangings aside to reveal himself.

"What is it?" he asked, taking in Scorpius' heavy breathing and disheveled appearance. It was a long walk from the Hogwarts library to their dormitory, and Scorpius had been in a hurry.

"We should go to the Shrieking Shack," Scorpius announced with a large grin. He hadn't thought through what he was going to say once he reached Albus, and now he was thinking that perhaps he should have based on the confused look on Albus' face. This was the same building they had both declared themselves uninterested in visiting again after all.

"The Shrieking Shack?" Albus repeated. He looked down at the books and parchment on his bed. Clearly, Scorpius had interrupted a study session. Albus might have even been working on the same essay that Rose had been when Scorpius had found her.

"Yes, the Shrieking Shack."

Scorpius couldn't stop himself from bobbing up and down on his toes, though the action caused Albus to look at him in even greater confusion.

"Okay," Albus said, closing up his books and setting them aside. "Why are we going to the Shrieking Shack, and why are you so excited about it?"

Scorpius held back a cheer as Albus slid off his bed and began tugging on his trainers.

"You'll see."

Scorpius had never gotten a chance to be mysterious before. Now that he had something exciting to surprise someone with, he was bubbling with the joy of it.

Due to Scorpius' excitement, they made the trip to the Shrieking Shack in record time, with Albus hurrying to keep up with his friend's pace.

Pushing the trap door open, Scorpius took in the sight of Rose, a blanket laid out underneath her that was littered with various snacks that she must have gotten from the kitchens. Trust Rose to have figured out how to get in during the time she hadn't been speaking to the boys.

Scorpius pulled himself up onto the ground floor.

"Hi, Rose."

She smiled back at him before her eyes landed behind him and her smile dropped. Scorpius turned around to see Albus hovering halfway through the door, looking hesitant. Scorpius reached out the take Albus' hand.

"Come on," he urged. "You can't stand there forever."

Albus came easily enough at the goading, but he continued to watch Rose carefully as he did so.

"Did you know she would be here?" Albus asked, though it was clear that he already knew the answer.

"Yes," Scorpius replied, and he didn't feel that sheepish at the glare Albus sent his way. It wasn't filled with much venom or anger.

Scorpius tugged on Albus' hand, bringing him down to sit on the blanket beside him. Rose, who had watched their exchange in silence, tried to smile at Albus, but it was strained, and she received nothing but a glare back. Scorpius kept his hand in Albus' and squeezed, doing whatever he could to… He wasn't sure what he was doing. Encouraging Albus? Comforting him? Reining him in from yelling at Rose? Maybe he was doing all of it.

Rose shifted uncomfortably and began rearranging the food she had brought with her on the blanket.

"I brought food," she said, "and this blanket so we didn't have to sit on the dusty floor. Kind of ironic, huh? I made fun of you two for being prepared last time, and then I go and bring this."

It was a lot of stuff. Rose had to have used a levitation charm to get all of it to the Shrieking Shack, and considering she was quite a novice with the spell, that hadn't been much easier than carrying it all herself.

Albus didn't care about her efforts though. He didn't even react to her attempts at a joke.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"Scorpius and I talked," was Rose's vague explanation.

"I figured as much," Albus retorted, "but what, exactly, did you talk about?"

He looked to Scorpius instead of Rose, but Scorpius didn't feel that it was his place to answer. Sure, he'd been the one to confront Rose in the library, but Rose was the one who had been angry with Albus for more than a month.

"The two of us talked and, uh, made up I guess you could say," Rose said

"Rose apologised," Scorpius said, unable to listen any longer without interfering.

"She did?"

Albus was genuinely surprised. Rose's cheeks turned a deep shade of pink, and she averted her eyes in favour of looking down at the bag of crisps she had opened before the boys had arrived.

"I did," she said quietly. "Honestly, I already said this to Scorpius, but I realize I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you. You scared me when you accused me of that stuff because part of me knew you were right. I'm sorry."

Albus' cool demeanor melted slightly. He kept his narrowed eyes on Rose.

"And you apologized to Scorpius for how you treated him before?"

Rose opened her mouth to respond, but before she could do so, Scorpius interjected with, "She did."

It amazed Albus, though it didn't surprise him, that Scorpius had been capable of forgiving Rose. Albus couldn't do the same. He knew that no matter what Rose said to him.

Rose knew it too. Albus could see it from the desperation in her eyes. Whatever Scorpius had done, he had made her feel guilty, which was something Albus hadn't managed to do. It was a talent Scorpius possessed, though he didn't realize it, which made it all the more powerful.

"When we first saw Scorpius on that train," her eyes bore into Albus', begging him to listen, "I hated that you wanted to talk to a Malfoy, but then, as you became closer to him, I realized that there was no way I was going to stop you from being friends with him. I hated that. We'd been best friends since we were born, and you were suddenly close with a Malfoy.

"After a while, I started to change my mind. My parents aren't fans of the Malfoys, for some good reasons." Scorpius shifted uncomfortably, picking at a loose thread of the blanket. "Then I started to think about what being friends with Scorpius would be like. One of the things I could imagine most was how it would make my parents, especially my dad, angry.

"I thought it would be funny," she admitted. "Kind of like I was rebelling." She laughed. "You're the one who got sorted into Slytherin, but I could befriend a Malfoy too."

She looked back and forth between the two boys, looking ashamed.

"I feel awful about it, but it is what it is. I didn't really think about it then. I really would like us all to be friends though, if it's possible."

She paused for a moment before adding, "And I'm saying that because I enjoy having you two around, not for any other reason."

Scorpius watched Albus for a response. Albus could feel Scorpius' eyes on him, and it was Scorpius' hopefulness, more than anything, that worked to change his mind.

"Look," Albus began, being careful to keep his voice firm and emotionless, "I'm willing to give you a second chance because Scorpius is and he's the one who deserves to be angry with you, but if you screw up again, Rose…"

Rose nodded. "I know. I understand."

She held out a pumpkin pasty to him as a peace offering, and this time, Albus accepted it. He couldn't help but smile when Scorpius' face lit up at the sign of camaraderie between the cousins. That meant more to Albus than whatever there was or wasn't between him and Rose.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 17

Scorpius came to feel like Rose really was trying to be a better friend. She didn't corner him in the corridors and parade him around like a trophy. She greeted him when they crossed paths, and occasionally she would stop because she had something to say. It was remarkably normal.

The true nature of Scorpius and Rose's friendship wasn't being formed in the corridors though. It was being formed in the library. Both kids had known that the other enjoyed reading, but that hadn't meant much to them before. They'd never discussed books with each other.

Then books became what they leaned on to get to know each other.

Within the span of a couple of weeks, the library had come to be their place. They met there at least every other day. Sometimes Albus would be there and sometimes not. A lot of bonding happened in the library, even if much of it had to be whispered and was punctuated by long periods of silence where they read or wrote.

Rose had giggled one day as she told Scorpius that she felt like they'd created what Muggles often referred to as book clubs.

When they'd first started meeting in the library, they'd cautiously discussed books that they'd come to realize they'd each read. It had started with their textbooks then moved on to _Hogwarts, A History_ then to others.

At some point, Rose had recommended a book to Scorpius; Scorpius had then recommended a book to Rose; and a tradition had been started. They each gave a lot of thought towards which book the other would read next, and they both got satisfaction out of the discussions that followed.

Scorpius had been careful, at first, about what books he recommended, but he was becoming bolder, more willing to recommend books to Rose that he was certain she never would have read otherwise.

Right now, he had her reading _Blood of Our Ancestors_ , a staple in the libraries of the blood-obsessed old wizarding families. He knew Rose had entered the book hating it, but he had been amazed that she hadn't argued when he handed it to her, just began to read it like she had the others.

Scorpius hadn't given it to her because he expected her to agree. He could easily say that the book was garbage, despite it taking up space in his family's own library. (His mum had tried to get rid of it. Grandmother Narcissa had fought back and put her foot down. Scorpius knew it would be gone as soon as she died.) He had given it to her because he wanted to hear what she had to say about it once she was finished. Though he had a good idea already, Scorpius thought Rose could have some genuinely amazing counterarguments to the book's main points, and he looked forward to hearing them.

He was almost as excited to reveal to Rose what he thought about _Little Known Wizarding Conflicts of 15th Century England_ , which was another book full of references to the old wizarding families, though in this one they came out looking far less distinguished as the book recounted the many petty fights that had transpired between them over the years. Scorpius cringed every time the Malfoys were mentioned though. It was never for anything good.

Glancing up from his own reading, Scorpius saw that Rose was scowling as her eyes moved across the page. Scorpius chuckled to himself. It was going to be an excellent discussion. She heard his quiet laughter and glanced up, scowling at him.

"This book is terrible," she complained.

"I know," Scorpius replied. "I've read it at least four times. Grandfather Lucius said it was important for my education. Then he died, and I haven't picked it up since."

Rose turned thoughtful, glancing down at the pages of the book.

"I can't imagine forcing a kid to read this."

"I can."

Scorpius laughed again at Rose's scowl.

"None of these arguments make logical sense." Scorpius had been talking to Rose for long enough that he knew she was gearing up for a rant. He leaned back in his seat to listen. "This Liversworth fellow assumes so much stuff about the beliefs of his readers that he doesn't back up most of what he says, which means that those of us with a working brain read this and can't figure out what he's even saying. It gives me the impression that he was a rather self-absorbed man."

"I always thought so too, especially from the way he talks about his own family."

"Constantly, throughout the entire thing."

Scorpius nodded, leaning forward to place his elbows on the library table.

"What you won't find in that book is what happened to the Liversworths, why they're not around anymore."

Rose grew curious, and she smirked as she imagined what dreadful fate could have met such an arrogant man's prized family.

"How's that?" she asked. "I assume you know."

"Yeah, Mum told me once because she was angry that Grandfather was making me read it a second time."

Rose looked as thrilled as if it were Christmas. "Do tell."

Scorpius felt proud to get to share a story that Rose eagerly wanted to hear, and he found himself speaking animatedly and gesturing wildly with his hands despite the fact that Madame Pince could have been behind any of the nearby bookshelves.

"At some point in the 17th century, there was one small strand of the Liversworths left. Apparently they hadn't had much luck in producing heirs for a few generations. Some say there was a curse involved. Anyway, there weren't many of them left except the current patriarch, his wife, and their two kids. The Liversworth patriarch was a right prick just like his ancestor, and his wife ended up leaving him, see? She took the kids with her and concealed their new identities. Most think she remarried and the kids took their stepfather's last name. So there very well could be descendents of this guy still out there, but we'd never know it."

Rose laughed, having to cover her mouth with her hand to avoid attracting Madame Pince.

"Serves him right to be honest. If he was as bad as this guy."

She pointed down to her book.

Absentmindedly, she flipped through several pages of the books, half looking at a few of the words as they flashed by.

"It's strange," she admitted, "hearing about the Weasleys in here as one of the pureblood families. Back before we were blood traitors."

"Magic was treated differently by the Muggles in those days," Scorpius pointed out. "Hiding was harder, and you were a likely target for execution if you were found out, which was an inconvenience even if you managed to escape. People were scared of magic, even the Muggleborns, although they might have been more scared of others finding out about their magic than magic itself. Either way, I've always understood why the pureblood families were hesitant about Muggleborns back then when the Muggles were apt to kill us when they learned of who we are. At least these days they'd only be surprised."

Rose's smile showed him that she was thankful that he'd tried to assure her about her family's past behavior. Really, he wasn't one to judge when it came to families when his had a much more recent and darker past.

"Is this why you gave me the book?" Rose asked.

Scorpius' eyes went wide.

"No," he said, stumbling over that one short word. "It isn't. Honestly, I forgot your family was mentioned until you brought it up."

Rose gave him a smile that showed that she believed him, and Scorpius breathed easier. Sometimes being around Rose still felt like he was treading on eggshells, never knowing what it would take for one of them to crack.

"I gave you that book because I wanted to know what you thought about it. Nothing more."

Rose nodded.

"I'll get back to you on that, though I think I already know how I'm going to feel."

"Yeah, it's not going to change much, but you can't give up now. Not when you're close to done as it is."

Rose smirked, accepting the challenge.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I don't typically like to make excuses for a chapter possibly being lower quality, but this time I'm going to make an exception. My youngest sibling is currently in the hospital due to a collapsed lung (but is currently recovering from surgery and is as good as one can be expected to be while recovering from surgery), and I had to travel the past couple of days for reasons I won't go into (for something good, not bad). Needless to say, all of it has left me feeling a little off, so despite getting an adequate amount of sleep, I'm currently exhausted and was while I was going over this chapter one last time. Here's hoping I didn't miss any mistakes I would have otherwise missed. Also, thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter like always.**

Chapter 18

Scorpius and Rose walked down the corridor, talking and laughing up a storm. Albus, silently following them, had to begrudgingly admit that this was different than the last time. Rose didn't look around her to make sure others were watching, and she kept some physical distance between herself and Scorpius, not latching onto his arm.

It was different, but that didn't stop Albus from being wary.

They reached their parting point, with Rose heading in the direction of Transfiguration while Scorpius and Albus headed to Charms. Albus nodded at Rose as she left, not having said one word to her since they'd left the History of Magic classroom.

"Scorpius, can I ask you something?"

They had enough time before Charms that this conversation was unlikely to make them late, and Albus' curiosity was getting the better of him.

Scorpius sighed. "It's about Rose, isn't it?"

Albus nodded.

"How can you be friends with her so easily after what she did?"

Scorpius shrugged, but Albus waited for him to come up with an answer.

"Rose is important to you," Scorpius said, which was not one of the answers Albus had been expecting to hear. "I know you're angry with her, just like you're angry with most of your family, but she is still your family. You're also my best friend, so I figure that means I should care about Rose too."

Albus was touched, but he wasn't quite behind Scorpius' reasoning.

"You don't have to be friends with Rose just because she's my cousin."

"Oh, I know. This is just a second chance. I want to try at least. But, to be honest, Albus, there's also something about Rose that I like. She's the first person who's been willing to talk to me about the same book for an hour. Everyone needs a friend like that."

Albus wasn't a friend like that. He'd listened to Scorpius go on about the same book for what felt like an hour, but he never had anything to say in response. He'd been hoping that Scorpius would make a friend or two with whom he could talk to about such things, even if Albus hoped he was still the person Scorpius went to for everything else. He hadn't thought that Rose would end up being that friend.

"Whatever makes you happy," Albus said with a reluctant shrug.

Scorpius smiled at him, and Albus struggled to remember why he had wanted to deny Scorpius of Rose's friendship.

XXX

It took a month before Albus felt comfortable enough with Rose to bring up what he'd come to see as his biggest secret.

They sat in the Shrieking Shack with Scorpius. Albus hated the place, but he'd been unable to come up with anywhere to show his cousin where they were guaranteed not to have any unwanted guests. Nowhere else was private enough. Just hiding the Map within his robes had made Albus feel like he had a target on his back, which was ridiculous when no one would have suspected it of being anything more than a piece of parchment.

"Why are we out here again?" Rose asked.

"Like I said, I have something to show you."

Rose was curious but also perplexed. No matter how much she wracked her brain, she couldn't come up with any guesses as to what Albus had to share.

"You remember that my dad gave Teddy the Marauder's Map back when he started Hogwarts, right?"

Rose's eyes grew wide as she processed Albus' words. She nodded eagerly.

"Of course. He was so proud of that map. I remember him bragging about it when we were younger, but he hasn't mentioned it so long. I'd forgotten about it."

"Well, yeah, he hadn't because he wasn't using it, was he? He couldn't when he wasn't at Hogwarts anymore. It was useless."

He was able to keep himself from sighing at the level of excitement on Rose's face. He'd known she'd be enthusiastic.

"And he gave it to you?" she asked, unable to keep herself from leaning forward.

Albus nodded, tugging the parchment out from his robes. Rose made a noise of admiration. She'd seen the Map when Teddy had first gotten it years ago, back when he'd wanted to show it off frequently, but they'd been young then, and those memories were consigned to the hazy recesses of their minds.

"Can I see it for myself?" she asked.

Albus could tell that she was having a tough time keeping herself from reaching out for the Map without permission. He held it out to her and watched as Rose turned the Map over in her hands. It still appeared to be nothing more than a simple piece of parchment, but Rose's smile was wide and her eyes sparkled. She tugged her wand out of her pocket and glanced up at Albus.

"May I?"

Albus shrugged. He'd only activated the Map two or three times since it had come into his possession, and he strongly felt that someone ought to be getting use out of it.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Albus was surprised that Rose had managed to remember that particular spell when she hadn't seen the Map in nearly ten years, but he didn't question her about it, only took a step forward so that he could inspect the Map too. Scorpius followed, and the three of them stared down at the Map, watching the various dots that represented the witches and wizards of Hogwarts as they moved this way and that.

It was rather neat, Albus thought, to be able to see the activity throughout the entire castle, but he had yet to come up with any actual uses for the Map.

"This is incredible," Rose said breathlessly. "Just think about it, four Hogwarts students made this. Using such advanced magic. It's amazing."

"It certainly seems like one of a kind," Scorpius said. He'd been intrigued by the Map since he'd learned of it too purely because of the magic behind it. "I've never heard of a Map of Hogwarts like this."

"Dad said before that he doesn't think another exists, but he's not sure why," Albus said.

"It'll be Hogwarts' wards," Rose stated simply. Scorpius nodded, showing he at least considered it a viable option, but when Albus' brow furrowed in confusion, Rose continued, "Hogwarts' wards keep out Muggles, yeah, but they also make Hogwarts unplottable. It's not meant to appear on any maps. You have to have a magical register of a place to make a map like this, so it couldn't have been made unless the makers were inside Hogwarts. Few students have been capable of this type of magic while still a student, and professors wouldn't have wanted to make it easy to sneak around, which means that millennia passed without anyone making a map of Hogwarts like this."

Albus never would have thought of any of that.

"Were the Marauders really that powerful?" he asked. He'd heard story after story of their escapades, both as students and during the wars. He knew they'd been talented, but he hadn't reckoned that they were so advanced as to pull off magic that few were capable of.

Rose shrugged, a grin on her face showing how thrilling she found the topic.

"We may never know. One of them died at twenty-one. Another sat in Azkaban for twelve years. Even Remus probably could have done a lot more if it weren't for the persecution of werewolves. I doubt we saw the full potential of any of them."

Scorpius was frowning as he looked down at the Map. He hadn't been raised on the same stories of the Marauders that Albus and Rose had been, but few in the wizarding world hadn't heard their names.

"Dad's always said that power attracts power," he said. "If one of them was capable of incredible things, it makes sense that those they drew to them were too."

Albus felt a shiver down his spine. The word 'power' held negative connotations for him, and he didn't like it being applied to his grandfather. It unnerved him.

"But they also had Peter Pettigrew," Albus pointed out, getting a strange sort of joy from poking holes in that particular theory. "It's not like they were some incredible force."

Scorpius looked up at Albus with a peculiar look on his face.

"I don't think Pettigrew was as much of a fool as some would like to believe," he said, watching Albus and Rose for a negative reaction. He didn't want Rose jumping on him again for being sympathetic of Death Eaters. The Death Eaters had perhaps been harsher on Pettigrew's abilities than the Order ever had been.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked. "Everything I've ever heard about him makes him sound like an idiot."

"Yes, that's how people characterize him," Scorpius said. "But look at what he did: He successfully betrayed his friends, got another locked in Azkaban, and faked his own death. He found Voldemort when no one else could. Those aren't things that idiots are capable of. Whatever Pettigrew's personality, he had some level of power. Just how good he was, we'll never know either. I do think he was easily controlled when he thought he was in danger. Maybe he possessed power that he didn't even realize he had."

Rose raised an eyebrow, though her expression couldn't rival Albus' flabbergasted reaction. Scorpius flushed a light pink as Albus stared at him in open surprise, averting his eyes from his best friend.

The Map continued to show the coming and goings of Hogwarts, and Rose was sucked back into it quickly.

"Do you know what this means?" Rose asked, pulling the boys' attention back to the Map. Scorpius glanced at her in confusion, but Albus groaned, knowing where she was going.

"There's only one thing this Map was made for," Rose continued, "and that's exploring Hogwarts. We'd be wasting potential if we didn't use it."

Now Scorpius looked as hesitant as Albus. Even after their wanderings with Rose, neither boy was able to get in the spirit of sneaking around the school building. It didn't hold the same charm for them as it did Rose or the Marauders.

"Come on," Rose urged, sensing their hesitance. "We haven't found the Room of Requirement. This could be our chance. We can look as much as we want without being caught."

Rose's words caused Scorpius' eyes to widen.

"Is the room not on the Map?" he asked, scrambling to get a closer look as if he would know where to look to see the room if it was.

"It's not supposed to be," Albus said. "It's good at staying hidden."

"Interesting," Scorpius muttered under his breath. His interest in the Map had been reawakened as he leaned over it.

"But we can still use the Map to help us find it," Rose pointed out.

Albus sighed as Scorpius' eyes fell on him, this time looking like he wanted to go along with Rose.

"Fine," Albus agreed. "We can look for the Room once at least."

Rose cheered and fist pumped into the air, causing Scorpius to giggle.

XXX

The Map did help ease quite a bit of the anxiety that came from sneaking around places you weren't supposed to be. Albus monitored it carefully as he and Scorpius walked to Gryffindor Tower, and he knew how unlikely it was that they would be caught. Even without the Cloak, they knew of enough nooks and crannies to safely disappear into whenever a professor or Filch happened to be in their path.

Rose was already waiting outside the Gryffindor common room when the boys arrived. There was no way for them to know what she had said the Fat Lady, but the portrait frowned in disapproval when the Slytherins came into view. Rose rushed forward, bouncing on her toes as she skidded to a stop in front of them.

"You were supposed to wait in the common room," Albus pointed out in annoyance.

Rose brushed off the reprimand, saying, "How would I know when you were here?"

With a sigh, Albus looked back down at the Map, not bothering with a response. Rose crowded over his shoulder, eager to have another chance at using the Map.

"We've already searched everywhere," Albus pointed out. "Where do you want to go tonight?"

Rose motioned for Albus to give her the Map. She had come up with a plan, and she folded the Map to show a specific part of the castle.

"We'll start here." She pointed at a seventh floor corridor not far from the Gryffindor common room. "Then we'll work our way down. I don't think there's much chance it's above us, considering we're in one of the towers. That doesn't seem right from what I've heard. I think it's going to be lower than this floor, but we should still check this floor in case I'm wrong."

Albus sighed at the thought of all that work and in the middle of the night no less. He was going to be sleep deprived all to find some room that he had nothing more than a passing interest in.

"Fine," Albus said. "We'll start here. Come on."

Without glancing back, he headed down the corridor. Their footsteps echoed loudly even as they tried to stay quiet, and Albus hoped that Rose was monitoring the Map closely.

They'd made it through several turns before footsteps echoed down the corridor they occupied. Albus' heart rate skyrocketed, and he went into panic mode as he searched for a place to hide. Spotting a door, he tapped it while saying, "Alohomora," yanked it open, and tugged Scorpius inside. Rose followed closely after.

Less than a minute later, the footsteps could be heard right outside of the door they stood behind.

They stayed silent, hardly daring to breathe, until the footsteps disappeared. It was only then that Albus bothered to glance at Rose, finding her frowning at the Map.

"Professor Longbottom," she said, glancing up at them. "So it wouldn't have been even close to the end of the world if we'd been caught."

She gave a short laugh, and Albus felt anger building inside of him. Scorpius was trembling hard enough that Albus could feel it despite the space between them. He reached out to grasp Scorpius' hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. Scorpius offered him a small smile, and Albus turned to face Rose once more.

"How did you not see him coming?" he demanded, not bothering to keep the anger from his voice. Rose looked at him, raising one eyebrow. She did not look ashamed.

"I wasn't watching that particular hallway," she explained.

Though this was an adequate answer to her, Albus didn't accept it. He took as many steps towards her as he could while still grasping Scorpius' hand, and he did his best to emphasize his height, though he was shorter than she was.

"'Not watching that particular hallway'? Rose, it was right off the corridor we were in. How could you not've been watching it?"

Rose shrugged. This time it was Scorpius who squeezed Albus' hand, and Albus felt some of his anger dissipate. He turned to look at his best friend, taking in the sad look in Scorpius' eyes.

Albus turned back to look at Rose.

"We're not doing this again," he declared. "Not when you're going to be so stupid. There's a reason Scorpius and I only agreed to this with the Map. We're not going to run around until we get caught."

Rose's face fell.

"There's always going to be risks to sneaking around after dark," she said. "That doesn't go away with the Map, and you knew that. You were just waiting for an opportunity to blame me for something again."

"I wasn't, Rose. I wasn't expecting you to not be looking at the Map, but if you're not going to, then we're not doing this."

Rose and Albus switched places, with Rose beginning to look far angrier than Albus.

"Well, you can't declare these things for Scorpius." She turned to look at the blonde boy, who stood at Albus' side. "Do you not still want to find the Room of Requirement, Scorpius?"

Scorpius looked between Albus and Rose, unsure of how to answer. Albus' anger only flared higher. He wanted to tell Scorpius that he could answer with the truth, no matter what that was, but his anger prevented him from it.

"I don't want to get into trouble," Scorpius said. Rose frowned, but Scorpius was too busy watching Albus to notice. Albus sent him a gentle, encouraging smile, and Scorpius smiled back and stood a little taller. "Finding the Room would be cool, but I'm not sure it's worth it."

The dejection on Rose's face was enough for Albus to begin feeling slightly guilty. He had, after all, decided to do this largely because he wanted the Map put to good use, and now he was backing out. The Map would continue to sit in his trunk unused.

"Here," Albus said, holding the Map out to Rose. She looked between him and the Map with wide eyes. "Take it," Albus urged, flourishing it at her.

Rose frantically shook her head adamantly.

"I can't do that."

Albus raised an eyebrow. "And why not? You want to use it, Rose, so use it. I won't, and that's not fair to any of us. Not fair to the Marauders probably. Take the Map. Put it to good use. Make my grandfather proud."

Something about Albus' words made Rose's frown deepen. She looked at the Map for a long moment as if contemplating Albus' offer, but then she glanced up at him, really looked at him for a moment, and shook her head again.

"No, I can't take it. Teddy gave it to you because you're James Potter's grandson. You're the Map's rightful owner, not me."

"Rose, who cares? It doesn't matter. Maybe I was the rightful owner for a bit, but now I'm giving it to you. That's no different than Teddy giving it to me."

The look Rose gave Albus was sympathetic, and Albus did his best to ignore it.

"It's plenty different," she said. "Even if you can't see it, Teddy passed on the Map because he couldn't use it anymore. You could. You're not even done with your first year."

Albus waving the Map towards Rose, wishing that she would take it and end the nonsense.

"Take it," he urged, his voice sharp.

With many people, Albus' noticeable frustration might have intimidated them into taking the Map, but it had no effect on Rose. She stood her ground, not wavering under Albus' stern gaze.

"I won't," she declared, lifting her chin to appear defiant. "You're going to keep it, Al. That's how it should be."

They stood off for a few moments, each glaring at the other. Scorpius stood between them, eyes flickering back and forth nervously. He couldn't stop tugging on the ends of his sleeves.

After several long, tense moments, Albus broke. Rose was perhaps the only person who could have overcome him in that moment, and he muttered angrily to himself as he stowed the Map back into his pocket.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: This is an extremely short chapter. I'd been considering combining chapter 20 with it, but all things considered, I decided to go ahead and just post it on its own. Thanks again to Pendragon2601 for beta reading.**

Chapter 19

The library was quieter than normal, which was saying something when Madam Pince ruled with an iron fist. It was a Saturday night, so Scorpius couldn't blame most of Hogwarts' inhabitants for finding other things to do, but he was quite content among his stacks of books.

Scorpius would have been fine with lounging in the library all evening wrapped up in his books if it weren't for Rose's strange behavior since he had arrived. He'd found her already consumed with a book, nothing unusual in and of itself, and he'd settled in across from her as he always did. She'd glanced up and greeted him, but there was something about her look that Scorpius couldn't pinpoint and that had him wondering if something was wrong. She'd shrugged it off.

He kept shooting her furtive glances, but she was never looking back, her eyes firmly on the page in front of her. He couldn't get a good look at her book, but he sensed that it was a Muggle one. It looked machine, not magic, made.

Scorpius' stomach felt like a tight ball of knots—he couldn't deal with a repeat of the last time Rose had been angry, if that was what she was—when he worked up the courage to say something.

"Rose," he said, his voice sounding hoarse from disuse. "What's going on?"

For a moment, Rose debated whether or not to truthfully answer. Then, with a sigh, she made her decision, tossing one last glance down at her open book.

"Have you ever heard of social anxiety, Scorpius?"

Scorpius froze. That wasn't what he had been expecting, and he wasn't sure what to say in response, though he had an idea of where Rose was going.

"I've heard of it," he answered.

Rose looked at him for a moment, taking in the way he avoided eye contact and was suddenly unable to sit still, though she had seen him act similarly before.

"I was reading about it the other day," she began, motioning to the Muggle book in her hands. Scorpius cringed, hoping she wasn't going to make this into a bigger deal than it needed to be. She was using that voice that typically led to her making grand declarations. "It's a Muggle diagnosis. Sometimes I feel like us witches and wizards are behind when it comes to mental health."

"We just give out potions for everything," Scorpius agreed.

Rose gave a short nod.

"Right. That's what we do, but it doesn't help anything long term unless you keep taking the potion. Anyway, that's not the point, what I'm trying to say, Scorpius, is that I was reading about social anxiety the other day, and it sounded an awful lot like you."

Scorpius sat quietly for a moment, trying to come up with a response.

"Maybe," Scorpius said quietly. "I've heard of it before, but I've never seen a doctor about it."

Rose nodded and then shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway," she said, "it's not like I mind. I just thought I'd bring it up."

He wondered, if she didn't mind, why'd she'd said anything at all, but he didn't ask.

"I do have Asperger's," Scorpius said abruptly. Rose's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything as he continued. "My mum took me to a Muggle doctor when I was little. They diagnosed me, and I've read what Muggle books I can about it since then. Anxiety is supposed to be common with it. That's why I've heard of it before."

"I've heard of Asperger's," Rose said, "but I don't know much about it. I know it's another Muggle diagnosis."

Scorpius gave a short nod of his head.

"I never would have been diagnosed if Mum didn't work with Muggles. That's how she heard about it, and she thought it sounded a lot like me. It turned out that she was right."

Rose looked thoughtful.

"Would it make you uncomfortable if I looked for some books on it?" she asked. "I want to learn some more."

Scorpius stared at her with wide eyes.

"That would be fine," he said. He actually welcomed it, though he didn't say as much to her as he went back to his homework.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 20

The weather was becoming nice once again as the snow and ice thawed and life began to return to the Hogwarts grounds.

Albus often talked Scorpius into going and sitting underneath a tree by the lake. It was the same tree every time, and both boys had begun to label it as theirs.

On one particular Saturday, the two boys were taking advantage of the weekend by spending all their time from lunch to dinner outdoors. It seemed like the right thing to do when the weather was perfect and welcoming.

Albus was at ease, leaning back against the tree trunk with his eyes closed. Scorpius watched the other boy, knowing he had something to say but reluctant to break the calm silence that had descended upon them.

"Albus," Scorpius said, voice cracking from disuse. He hadn't realized how long they had been sitting in silence.

Albus hummed in reply, not bothering to open his eyes. Scorpius wondered how closely he was actually listening.

"I want to tell you something."

Albus' eyes opened, and his face was no longer as relaxed as before as he watched Scorpius carefully, having sensed his tone.

"I have Asperger's."

There was a moment of silence after he said the words, with the two boys watching each other.

Panic rushed through Albus' veins as he tried to figure out what to say.

"I don't know what that means," he admitted, feeling guilty. It felt inadequate, yet he had nothing else.

"My mind works differently than most people's minds," Scorpius said, not put off by Albus' confusion. "Mostly, I have trouble talking to people. It's hard for me."

As he was keeping his eyes diverted, Scorpius couldn't see the gentle, caring look that Albus was giving him.

"What do you mean by different?" Albus asked.

Scorpius took a deep breath before diving into a story similar to the one he had shared with Rose.

"When I was younger, my mum took me to a Muggle doctor. They were the ones who diagnosed me with it."

Scorpius went on to tell Albus almost everything he could think of about Asperger's. Throughout it all, Albus listened intently, as if he needed to memorize every detail for later.

By the time Scorpius had shared as much information as he could, feeling exhausted, the two boys were pressed against each other's sides. Neither was sure at what point in Scorpius' story it had happened, but it had. They could each feel the slightest movement of the other, and Scorpius found it comforting, almost relaxing.

"For whatever it's worth," Albus whispered as if he didn't want to break the moment between them, "I quite like how your mind works."

Scorpius tried to hide his smile, leaning his head to rest on Albus' shoulder. The two boys sat there for a while longer, taking in the spring air and relishing being in each other's presence.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 21

"I can't believe he ditched us," Albus muttered under his breath. Despite his tone, he wasn't angry at Scorpius. He found it difficult to be most days. Rose, on the other hand, was quite easy to be angry at, and he found himself directing his frustration her way as they strolled around the grounds.

She rolled her eyes at her cousin's complaint.

"Are you so co-dependent that Scorpius being gone for one day is going to ruin your mood?"

Scorpius had done this on purpose. Albus knew he had, yet it was Rose that he found himself frustrated with.

"As if he actually has homework he suddenly remembered he hadn't done. This is Scorpius we're talking about. He finishes everything a week early, and he wouldn't even tell me what the assignment was. He's a terrible liar."

Rose murmured something under her breath that seemed to be in agreement.

"What do I have to do to make you less angry with me?" Rose asked out of nowhere, twirling around to face him and crossing her arms across her chest.

Albus stopped in his tracks, caught off guard. They hadn't talked about his anger towards her since the day he had agreed to give her another chance.

He wracked his mind for an answer.

"I'm not all that mad at you anymore," he told her. "At least not, like, actively. I still think what you did was crappy, and it makes me mad, but it was too long ago to be as mad as I was."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"I got that from the way you stopped glaring at me constantly. You did offer me the Map too. I figured you wouldn't do that if you hadn't somewhat forgiven me."

Albus shrugged. He might've. He really wanted to get rid of that map.

He hesitated a moment before he told Rose what the real reason was. "The problem is that I still don't feel like I can trust you."

The grin that had been on Rose's lips dropped into a frown. She turned away from Albus, continuing to walk the perimeter of the lake. Albus followed her without speaking.

"That's fair, I guess," Rose said after a while. Albus breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't sound angry, just sad.

"For whatever it's worth though," she continued, "I have become fond of Scorpius. I don't plan to hurt him."

"To be fair, Rose, what started this didn't involve you planning to hurt him."

This time, Rose shrugged, not as thrown off by Albus' comment.

"I know Scorpius better now," she said matter-of-factly. "That won't happen again."

There was a forceful tone to her voice that made Albus want to believe her. The problem was that he wasn't sure that he did. Rose always sounded confident about things, whether she was right or not.

When he didn't respond, Rose sighed, looking out across the lake.

"I do have to admit that this year hasn't gone how I expected. Scorpius Malfoy isn't like any Slytherin I would have ever imagined, and neither are you."

Albus wasn't sure what she was getting at, so he didn't bother with a response. Rose continued without glancing over at him.

"You're my cousin, and I'll always love you. I actually think I know you better now than before we started at Hogwarts, isn't that strange?"

Albus shrugged. He hadn't given it much thought before, but she was probably right. He'd kept his beliefs about being a Slytherin to himself before September. Now all of his cards were out on the table for the world to see.

"Maybe," Albus admitted. "Everything this year has been weird and unexpected."

Rose offered him a smile, one that was partially a question. Albus quirked his lips upward in a small smile, causing Rose's smile to brighten. Albus looked away, asking Rose if she was ready to head back up to the castle. Her smile fell for a moment, but she nodded, following him back across the grounds.

XXX

It was the last Quidditch match of the season, and if Slytherin could beat Ravenclaw by a hundred points, they'd win the Quidditch Cup. With Gryffindor out of the running, Rose had appeared at the match donned in a Slytherin scarf, shocking her cousin as much as she did everyone else.

Amazingly, no one said a word as she joined Albus and Scorpius in the stands. For the first time that year, Scorpius joined in the cheering, goaded on by Rose's sudden support for Slytherin, even if she did nothing more than clap politely.

When the Slytherin seeker grabbed the snitch, assuring Slytherin of the Cup, the Slytherin portion of the stands erupted in cheers. Scorpius and Albus joined in, hugging briefly as they screamed. In the happiness, many in their House seemed to briefly forget that they despised the two first years, and they were allowed to feel a sense of unity in the accomplishment.

Rose sat quietly, forgotten in the chaos.

It took several long moments before the Slytherins began to realize that the other Houses were applauding too. Slytherin quieted down as they stared out at the other students in the stands.

The applause wasn't particularly loud or boisterous, but it was coming from a small group within the three-fourths of the student body who were in blue and bronze. Even if it was quiet, polite applause, it was shocking.

Many of the students were surprised that students around them were clapping too. Suddenly, you could have heard a pin drop in the Slytherin portion of the stands.

Some of the Slytherins began looking towards Albus, whose face suddenly felt hot despite the cool temperature.

"Well, look at that," one of the older Slytherins who sat behind them said, staring right at Albus. "Maybe you really are making a difference, Potter."

Albus turned away from the boy, looking out onto the Quidditch pitch instead of at any of the Slytherins or members of the other Houses. He kept his features carefully controlled.

XXX

The celebration in the Slytherin common room carried on late into the night, and the awkwardness of that moment on the Quidditch pitch was forgotten, with the other Houses only being mentioned in the many recaps of the game itself. Recaps that were repeated frequently by all.

Scorpius found the whole thing rather overwhelming. There was so much happening, and no one was glaring at him and Albus. It was strange.

He stuck close to Albus' side. Albus was taking their new acceptance in stride, talking to the others and making a strong impression before their good humour wore off. Scorpius did nothing but smile along with Albus. He wasn't sure that he wanted to try to befriend people who had been terrible to them for months, but he couldn't blame Albus for trying, so he quietly tagged along.

Albus, for his part, was extremely aware of Scorpius at his side. He glanced over frequently to make sure that Scorpius was doing okay. Since Scorpius' confession, Albus had learned more about Asperger's, and he found himself understanding why he felt somewhat protective over Scorpius, especially when they were around others. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but his eyes kept flickering in Scorpius' direction to reassure himself regardless.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Thank you, as always, to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 22

As time passed, Scorpius became more and more thankful that he had told his friends about his Asperger's. He felt lighter. He could well and truly say that he'd shared almost everything with Albus, and it felt good.

He and Rose had begun spending some of their time together out on the grounds, still taking advantage of the increasingly nice weather. It only made him feel better. They discussed books the same as always, but he appreciated the change in scenery.

"Can we talk?" Rose asked, interrupting their silent reading time.

Scorpius froze, looking up from his book on the wizarding politics of Europe to glance at Rose. She was watching him closely, and it was so similar to the time she'd brought up social anxiety that Scorpius felt uneasy. He had exactly two secrets, which were intertwined, and the way Rose was looking at him made him worry about the confidentiality of those secrets.

"About what?" he asked, trying to think of reasons she could want to 'talk' that weren't dangerous. For a moment, he felt a rush of panic that Rose might not want to be friends anymore. It did feel safer than her revealing him, but that didn't mean he relished the possibility.

Somehow, Rose seemed to get what he was thinking.

"The two of us are fine," she said. "I want to talk about something else."

She seemed so serious that Scorpius was increasingly sure that he should prepare for another terrifying conversation. He hadn't known that befriending Rose would be this dangerous, even if he'd always known there was a level of risk involved whenever one tried to make friends.

"What is it?" Scorpius asked, trying his best not to let his voice waver. It didn't work.

Rose took a deep breath before launching into what she had to say, speaking quickly as if that would make it easier on both of them.

"I want to talk to you about your feelings for Albus."

Scorpius' stomach dropped, and he tried his best to control his features. His mind felt like it was overloading. There were so many thoughts rushing through that he couldn't process what they all were. His eyes flickered around everywhere except to Rose because he couldn't bring himself to look at her and crumble under the truth.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked unconvincingly.

Rose sighed, beginning to look a little annoyed.

"Scorpius, don't do that. We both know the truth."

"I don't," he snapped.

It was the first time he'd raised his voice at Rose, and her eyes widened. She stared at him, looking more cautious about the topic that she had decided to bring up. Scorpius glared back at her, no longer feeling sheepish, just angry and embarrassed. This was too personal, and suddenly, Scorpius didn't feel like she was close enough to him to have said anything.

"What are you playing at?" Scorpius demanded.

He was making Rose angry. It felt empowering, and he couldn't find the will to stop and try to smooth things over. This was the first time Scorpius had understood why someone would explode at someone else. He'd always felt scared of such a thing before, but with his anger and fear ringing in his ears, he couldn't be bothered to care about what he was saying.

Rose took a deep breath, releasing some of the tension from her shoulders. She managed to remind herself of what she had been repeating in her mind before she brought the subject up.

"I know what you're doing," she said, "and I won't do it too."

That only made Scorpius angrier. He didn't know what to say to her. He wanted to disappear and never have to see Rose again.

Rose continued, stepping towards Scorpius to put a hand out to touch him. Scorpius shrunk away, causing Rose to take a step back.

"I won't tell," she promised quietly. "Not Albus, not anyone."

Scorpius still didn't look at her. Tears stung at his eyes, and he was consumed with struggling to keep them contained, a task that he knew was hopeless. He'd never been able to stop the tears once they began to come.

"I don't believe you," he snapped. "How can I trust that you'll keep your word when you haven't always been trustworthy?"

He hadn't anticipated his words wounding Rose, but she flinched as he said them. They stood there for a few moments, Rose bowing her head in submission. She felt guilty, still, for what had happened earlier in the school year, but she hadn't suspected Scorpius of harboring any remaining blame towards her for it.

Rose hadn't intended to lay down an ultimatum, but after Scorpius' words, she found herself tempted by the idea. She thought it a good one anyway, something that would help both Scorpius and Albus in the long run. Scorpius would see that eventually, even if he didn't at first.

"I won't tell anyone," she repeated, trying to stay calm. "But I do think you should tell Albus."

Scorpius began shaking his head furiously, panic shining in his eyes.

"He can't know," Scorpius said, sounding strangled. "He can't."

Rose looked pained, but she wouldn't take back her declaration.

"He was the first friend I ever made," Scorpius continued. "If I tell him the truth, I ruin everything, Rose. Everything."

She shook her head. "You can't know that unless you tell him. I don't think it will be as bad as you th–"

"Of course it'll be that bad. I can't believe we're friends, and you think he'd react well to knowing how I feel about him?"

"Scorpius–"

"No."

Rose sighed, sensing a lost cause. Scorpius had worked himself up into far too intense of a panic for anything she said to get through to him. Never mind that she suspected his feelings of being returned. He'd never believe her.

"Albus can never know," Scorpius stressed, looking to Rose for her agreement. She wasn't sure how he'd react if she refused to agree, and she didn't want to find out. "About my feelings for him or even that I'm gay. If he knew that, he might figure it out."

"Keeping this from him is going to be hard," she said instead of replying directly to his request. "Hiding such a big part of yourself. Albus wouldn't like it if he found out that you had, and you can't pretend to be straight around him forever, Scorpius. That will never work."

He looked at her as if he had slipped a mask over his face, and Rose felt her heart twist knowing that she wasn't going to get through to him. Not that day and not anytime soon.

"If that's what you want," she agreed. "He won't learn about it from me, but what I said before it the truth. I think you should tell him, and that won't change."

Scorpius ignored her, turning back to his book in a foolish attempt to pretend that their conversation had never happened.

XXX

It was exceedingly hard for Scorpius to be around Albus for the several days that followed his conversation with Rose. Her words about him lying echoed through his mind and plagued his conscience. He didn't like it either, but he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. Not when it could ruin everything that he held dear, so he pushed Rose's words from his mind and tried to concentrate on other things.

Albus noticed that something was off. It was obvious from the way Scorpius ignored him for a day or so. Once he'd stopped with that nonsense, Albus noticed that the boy responded to him less, often offering nothing more than a nod in response to what Albus had said. It was strange, and he had no idea what the cause of it was until several days after the odd behavior had started.

He and Scorpius were in the library working on a History of Magic essay when Rose appeared. She sat down beside him instead of Scorpius, which added to the unusualness of Scorpius' recent behavior. Albus watched with curiosity as Rose got out her own History of Magic essay and proceeded to work on it, hardly glancing over at Scorpius. Scorpius returned the courtesy, not acknowledging Rose's presence.

After several more minutes of the same, Albus couldn't stop himself from asking, "What's up with you two?"

They both looked at him, Scorpius appearing startled at the question. Rose's expression was carefully controlled as she looked him right in the eyes and shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

Albus looked at her in disbelief.

"I mean the way you two are acting. What's up with it? Scorpius, you've been strange for days." Scorpius flinched and kept his eyes to his book. "And now you show up, Rose, and it's more of the same."

There was no reaction on Rose's face.

"I'm fine. Are you sure you're not imagining things, Al?"

She wasn't going to successfully do that to him.

"No, I know that I'm not. What's going on?"

Rose shrugged, looking entirely at ease. "Must be the stress of the coming exams." She looked at Scorpius for confirmation. He offered a slight nod before pointedly turning away from her again. "See," Rose said, her eyes lingering on Scorpius for a moment longer, "just exams."

Her manner made it clear that the discussion was closed. She turned back to her essay like Scorpius had, not offering Albus anything more.

Despite the fact that no one was looking at him, Albus gave a quick nod of his head. It was as good of an answer as he was going to get. Something still didn't seem right though, and he was itching to find out the truth.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading.**

Chapter 23

By the next week, Albus had forgotten about his friends' strange behavior. Both Rose and Scorpius were back to acting more or less like their normal selves, at least when they were around him. There still seemed to be something off, and Albus was growing increasingly suspicious that something was being hidden from him.

Then his older brother had to go and be as obnoxious as always. It took Albus more time to hear about the confrontation than much of the school, despite being the focus, because he and Scorpius had been out by the lake for much of the weekend.

It wasn't until dinner that night, when they had congregated with everyone else in the Great Hall, that Albus first learned that his brother had tried to defend his name or honour or whatever the hell it had been that James thought he was defending.

Albus groaned as he sat at the Slytherin table, taking in the whispers all around him. Scorpius looked at him sympathetically. They both lacked most of the information, but the Ravenclaws behind them were doing a good job of recounting the most recent version of the story: James had yelled at a fellow Gryffindor for insulting Albus. Things had gotten heated. Wands had been drawn, and Professor Longbottom had happened upon the scene, issuing detentions for both boys and taking enough House points that Gryffindor's hourglass was looking pathetic that evening.

"Why?" Albus muttered to Scorpius, who could do nothing but shrug in response.

James was an overwhelming force to Scorpius. The boy brought a tornado with him wherever he went. During the few times Scorpius had interacted with the boy, he'd felt an intense need to escape, so Scorpius couldn't bring himself to feel surprised that he would do such a thing.

Albus wasn't particularly surprised either. Just angry.

He set to work eating dinner, determined to ignore the people looking at him. James was nowhere in sight within the hall, either banished by force or by personal preference. By the end of dinner, the whispering had calmed down only slightly. The hall was abnormally quiet with many of the students feeling it safer to whisper. It was quiet enough for an angered admonishment to be heard from the Gryffindor table.

"Can we talk about something else, please? Who cares about what Potter said?"

This created waves of murmuring around the hall as many of the students agreed with the boy. Not everyone, but some of them.

Albus pushed himself away from the Slytherin table, knowing he'd drawn attention to himself but not allowing himself to worry about it as he hurried out of the hall.

He hadn't been expecting to find James lounging on the steps of the Grand Staircase in the entrance hall, but when he saw him there, he couldn't say that he was much surprised. It was such a James sort of place to hang out when he couldn't be found at dinner despite being whispered about by all.

"Al," James said in amusement, "fancy seeing you here."

Albus nodded silently as he strolled towards his brother. They were the only two people in the entrance hall.

"What are you doing?" Albus asked. "Why would you just sit on the staircase?"

James shrugged, smirking. "I don't know. Didn't much feel like dealing with the idiots in there." He motioned towards the doors to the Great Hall. "Thought it would be more peaceful out here. Fred is supposed to be bringing me food whenever he's finished with his dinner. It'll be another half hour at least."

"Why not go to the kitchens?"

James shrugged again. "Didn't much care for the house elves clamoring to serve me either."

That wasn't an answer Albus had been expecting. He always thought his brother wanted to be the centre of attention. It was out of character for him to be lounging out here instead of showing off in the hall.

"I assume you've heard," James said.

Albus nodded. He'd been angry before, but after putting up with the whispering all through dinner, Albus couldn't work up the energy to yell at James. It didn't seem worth it.

"Thank you," Albus said instead, shocking himself as much as James.

"Thank you?" James repeated. "Why am I being thanked?"

"For standing up for me or whatever." Albus' cheeks were warm, and he wished that he'd never run into James in the first place. Or, better yet, that James hadn't gotten it into his head that he should stand up for him.

James snorted, dismissing Albus' words with a wave of his hand.

"You're my little brother, Al. Obviously I stood up for you."

James began staring off into space. Albus looked at him, brows knitting together in confusion.

"Teddy gave me the Marauder's Map at Christmas, did you know?"

James regained awareness of his surroundings, looking back at Albus with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

"I didn't, but I'm not surprised. I figured that he had to have given it to someone. No use for it anymore, right?"

Albus nodded. "I always thought that he'd give it to you," he admitted. "I didn't think it would be me. Teddy pretty much had to force the Map on me."

James watched him with a frown.

"Of course you should have the Map," he said. "I already have the Cloak. I can't hog everything."

He laughed, but stopped abruptly when Albus didn't join him. He sighed.

"Look. I'm not going to lie. I'd like to borrow the Map sometimes. It would be useful, but that doesn't mean I should have it more than you. You have as much claim to it as I do, and Teddy was right to give it to you. We are brothers," he pointed out in amusement. "I think we're old enough to share. You can use the Cloak whenever you like. I figured that was a given."

Albus' eyebrows rose before he controlled his features. It hadn't been a given. He never would have expected James to offer such a thing. He protected the Cloak with every fibre of his being.

James rolled his eyes.

"Really, Albus. It's not that big of a deal. Just let me borrow the Map sometimes; you can borrow the Cloak. It's all good."

Albus nodded, and James stood up, about to take his leave despite not yet having received his dinner. He stretched and then turned to Albus.

"You should learn when I'm joking and when I'm serious, Al. After eleven years you should have it down."

And with that, he turned and casually strolled up the stairs. Maybe in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, maybe somewhere else entirely. Albus didn't give it much thought as he continued on his way to the Slytherin common room.

That had been odd and unexpected. What was he even meant to do with an invisibility cloak?


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading.**

Chapter 24

"Excuse me."

Albus and Scorpius looked up to see one of their fellow Slytherin first years, a brunette girl who was at least a head taller than the both of them. She had never been one to participate in the teasing their other House members threw their way, but she wasn't overtly friendly either, causing both boys to watch her sceptically after her approach.

"Yes?" Albus asked.

The girl hesitated for a second before asking, "Would you like to play exploding snap with us?" She motioned over her shoulder to where several other Slytherin first years were sitting in a circle on the floor. "We need a couple more players."

Albus raised an eyebrow and looked at Scorpius. Scorpius appeared more shocked than Albus was, staring at the girl with his mouth open. When Albus caught his eye, Scorpius shrugged and then gave a short, affirmative nod of the head.

"Okay," Albus told the girl, feeling rather hesitant about the whole thing. He followed her to where her friends were gathered in front of one of the empty fireplaces, Scorpius close behind him. She seemed genuine enough, and several of her friends tried their best to smile as they approached. No one looked like they were going to throw out any insults, but Albus didn't quite trust them. After nearly a year in the same House and year, none of these people had shown any interest in befriending them before.

The girl who had gotten them patted the spot on the rug beside her, smiling kindly at Scorpius as he sat down. He was nervous; Albus could tell by the way he trembled as he sat beside him. Albus carefully positioned himself so that his knee pressed against Scorpius' as they sat cross-legged. A slight smile could be seen on Scorpius' lips, even if he didn't glance in Albus' direction, and Albus grinned, feeling satisfied with his ability to make Scorpius smile.

When he glanced away, the same girl managed to catch his eye. Making eye contact, she glanced away immediately, a knowing smile on her face. Maybe Albus should have felt embarrassed, but he didn't.

The game went as any game of exploding snap was bound to: Everyone regretted the decision to play after the first explosion. But within minutes the group had Scorpius and Albus laughing along with their banter, and both boys had to admit that it was one of the best experiences they had gained from their first year.

XXX

Scorpius and Rose had to have fought. That was the only conclusion that Albus could come to when their behavior continued to be strange over the following days. Each time the three of them were together, the two barely spoke to each other, and it was Albus acting as the middleman, trying to keep conversations going.

Knowing both of them, Albus knew that it couldn't have been Scorpius who was at fault, and he felt few qualms about confronting Rose when she had to have been the one responsible for the fall out he'd been witnessing.

"What did you do to Scorpius?" he demanded one night. She sighed as if she'd been expecting this question since Albus had dragged her out onto the grounds alone.

"I didn't do anything," she said, trying to keep her voice as honest as possible. Her hands were tied, but she wouldn't willingly let Albus think of her as a bad person when that wasn't the case.

"Yeah, right," Albus replied, feeling himself getting easily annoyed with his cousin. "The two of you have hardly spoken in more than a week, and you want me to believe that Scorpius did something to you?"

Rose sighed, running a hand over her eyes.

"Scorpius didn't do anything either. The two of us are fine."

"That's crap," Albus said, causing Rose's eyes to widen. "You've both been acting strangely for days, and you expect me to believe nothing happened?"

"It hasn't!" Rose froze when she realized that she'd raised her voice louder than Albus' had been. It was quiet between them for a moment, and then Rose spoke again, calmly. "Scorpius and I are fine, Albus. Just drop it. Leave the past in the past. Scorpius and I are both over what happened at the beginning of the year. You should be too."

Albus felt like he'd been stung. He didn't think his accusations were without merit, and framing them as if they were merely a way for him to continue to blame her for the past was inaccurate at best.

"Look," Rose said firmly, making sure Albus' attention stayed on her. "Nothing strange is going on between me and Scorpius. We're friends. We always have been friends. Stop worrying."

She turned around and stormed away from Albus, leaving him confused. Something about her tone had managed to convince him that he might be wrong. She'd sounded too worried, as if Albus pushing her might dig up something she wanted to leave buried, but Albus had no idea what such a thing would be.

He felt like he had missed something even larger than he had believed before.

XXX

"He what?"

Rose nodded even though Scorpius' question hadn't been one with a 'yes' or 'no' answer.

"He did," she confirmed. "He knows something's going on, and whatever I said to him, he's probably only more convinced now."

Scorpius muttered a few choice words under his breath, pacing back and forth in the empty classroom Rose had dragged him into in a hurry. She'd been so wide eyed and harried that Scorpius had known whatever she had to say was going to freak him out.

"He's going to keep trying to figure it out until he gets the truth," Rose continued. "There's no other option. He'll know we're lying, and he'll keep poking around. I told you this would happen."

Scorpius was only half listening to Rose as he ran through possible solutions in his mind. None of them seemed particularly helpful. Panic was taking over his senses, making it harder and harder to think.

"I can't tell him the truth. I can't," Scorpius chanted, much like he had the day Rose confronted him. He'd known that Rose was right even then, but that didn't change what would happen if Albus learned the truth. Scorpius had to do everything in his power to prevent that from happening.

"Scorpius, you might have to," Rose said as gently as she could manage.

Scorpius looked up at her, tears shining in his eyes. He brought a hand up to sweep across his face, catching them.

"Merlin," he whispered. "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to do anything. It was only ever me and my family, and this is why. I'm a failure at relationships. I can't deal with them. That's obvious, isn't it? Merlin. It's good that this is happening because Albus deserves a better friend than me."

Rose shook her head frantically and took several steps forward. Scorpius allowed her to wrap her arms around him, and she squeezed him, feeling like it was the only thing she could do that would help. He wouldn't take her words to heart like she wanted him to.

"None of that is true," she said in a whisper once Scorpius' crying had calmed down. "You're not a failure. You have a crush on your best friend. That's not abnormal, Scorpius. It's not, and it's not going to make you lose Albus either. You're not the only person who's gone through this before, and I promise you that most of those people didn't lose their friends."

"Even if they screwed up as much as me and lied?"

"Everyone lies," Rose said. She pulled away and rolled her eyes playfully at Scorpius. "Merlin knows that I've lied plenty."

That comforted Scorpius, who was at least grinning shyly at her instead of crying.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Rose nodded, but her smile faded as she thought about what else needed to be said.

"You'll be okay, Scorpius. You and Albus will be okay, but I do think you need to tell him the truth."

Scorpius didn't answer, only looked away from her as he gathered up his bag. He swiped at his eyes once more, making sure the tears were gone, before he hurried back out of the classroom.

XXX

"I've figured it out."

Scorpius looked up from the book he was reading underneath their usual tree. His eyes were wide.

"Figured what out?" he asked in a trembling voice. He had never felt so scared, but it had left him feeling oddly frozen. Instead of his mind going a mile a minute, it was as if he couldn't think of anything at all. All of his senses had zeroed in on Albus, waiting for his answer.

"You like Rose," Albus replied matter-of-factly, giving a short shrug of his shoulders. He was doing his best to appear calm and collected.

"What?" Scorpius repeated in shock.

Albus laughed a little, offering Scorpius an encouraging smile.

"Actually," Albus said, leaning towards his friend, "I've started to think that you're secretly dating. That's why you've been acting weird around me, right? You don't want me to find out. Maybe you were worried that I would feel like a third wheel. It's alright though. I'm happy for you."

Was he? Albus was still trying to figure that out for himself, but he couldn't figure out where the strange unhappiness he felt when he thought of Rose and Scorpius together was coming from. Because of that, he'd already begun burying it under the desire for both of them to be happy, focusing on that instead.

Albus watched Scorpius, wanting to see his reaction.

"You think I'm dating Rose?" Scorpius asked, sounding bewildered. Albus' brow furrowed. He hadn't expected him to be quite this surprised that he'd managed to figure it out.

"Of course," Albus said. "Rose stressed that you hadn't fought, and you dating is the only other thing that would make sense. And hey, I get it. She's the first girl you've ever gotten close to, so it would kind of make sense, wouldn't it?"

Scorpius snorted, not saying much of anything. Albus shifted uncomfortably, growing unsure of himself.

Scorpius was unsure too. He'd been scrambling for a solution to his problem, and then Albus had appeared with this, something Scorpius hadn't in a million years expected. It had never occurred to him that Albus might assume he had feelings for Rose. It had never even occurred to him that having feelings for Rose was a possibility.

If he told the truth and stressed that he and Rose weren't together, then he'd only make Albus question the situation more. But if he went along with it…

"You're right," Scorpius said, sounding rather unconvincing to his own ears. "Somewhat at least. I did ask Rose out, but she turned me down. That's why we've been acting strange for the past week."

There was a quirk of Albus' lips before he frowned, but Scorpius missed it.

"I'm really sorry," Albus said, pretending to cringe. "I feel like I'm responsible for it somehow."

"No." Scorpius let his book fall to the ground in his haste to assure Albus otherwise. "It's not your fault. It's fine. Really. I'm fine. We're both moving on. It's all good."

Scorpius hoped the lie could end there and they could live their lives without ever bringing it up again.

"I can talk to her."

"No, no," Scorpius replied frantically. "Don't do that. Please don't do that."

Something about how desperate Scorpius sounded led to Albus nodding. He watched his friend for signs that he was more upset about Rose's rejection than he had let on, but Albus couldn't detect anything. Scorpius seemed the same as always, if a little nervous. It left Albus feeling thankful that at least she hadn't broken his heart.

XXX

"He what!?"

"Don't try to deny it, Rose. Scorpius told me everything."

Rose stared at Albus for a moment, mouth hanging open in shock. Had she expected him to never find out, Albus wondered.

"Let me get this straight," Rose said, her mouth pursed, "Scorpius told you that he asked me out and that I said no."

"Obviously. That's what happened."

Rose stared at him for another moment, fury shining behind her eyes.

"Don't get mad at him," Albus continued. "I'm the one who guessed. It's not like he just told me. I'd figured it out, and Scorpius didn't want to lie."

"Right. Scorpius has done nothing wrong."

He decided to ignore the sarcastic tone of her voice, continuing to the reason he had come to speak to her.

"Look. I can't make you like Scorpius," Albus said. "As much as I want him to be happy, that's not possible, but I wanted to let you know that I know what happened. And, for whatever it's worth, I'm not angry at you. I could see why you would think I would be–"

"I would?"

Albus shrugged. "Well, apparently you were worried I would be because you didn't tell me about it."

Rose ground her teeth together. "And that was because I thought you'd be angry. Yes."

"But I'm not. We're all good. I mean, Scorpius is upset, sure, but I think it'll be okay. It seems like it'll be okay."

"I think we're good. Like, right now. I think Scorpius is more than fine as we speak."

Albus looked at her strangely.

"You don't have to talk like that, Rose. I get why you'd want him to get over you, but it'll take time."

She didn't say anything in response, only offered him a tight smile and changed the subject. Albus let her, realizing that she wanted to talk about it even less than he did. Understandable, he supposed.

XXX

"You asshole!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Scorpius chanted over and over, cringing away from Rose. They were in the same empty classroom they'd been in the day before, and everything felt like as much of a mess as it had then.

"Albus guessed it, and it seemed like the only way out. I panicked. Completely panicked. I didn't know what to do."

"So you lied after telling me you felt guilty for lying?"

Scorpius' shoulders fell. He sank down into one of the chairs, burying his face in his hands.

"Yes," he admitted. "I didn't want to, but I did. This is what I meant the other day."

"Calm down," Rose snapped. She couldn't deal with a repeat of the last time they'd talked. After being confronted with Albus and then this, she felt exhausted. "You have to tell the truth," she said.

"I know I should," Scorpius said. "I just–"

He was so close to tears that it became difficult for him to talk. Rose sighed, backing off. She was learning that yelling at Scorpius, her go-to response when angry, didn't have the same outcome that it had with everyone else. While others would fight back and stoke her anger, Scorpius was far less likely to do so.

It was a good thing, but it left her struggling to figure out how to respond to him. She felt like she was flying by the seat of her pants.

"I won't do it again," Scorpius said. "Use you I mean. Even if I don't work up the courage to tell him the truth, I won't drag you into it. I promise."

She believed him, and that was the only reason why she wasn't going to push him any further.

"I'm trying to convince him that I'm already over you," Scorpius continued, causing Rose to roll her eyes. It wasn't as good of an outcome as Scorpius confessing and taking her out of the situation entirely, but at least it was better than nothing. She'd accept it as a first step.

"You better keep that promise," she warned. "Because if I get dragged into this again, you will regret it, Malfoy."

With that, Rose stormed out of the room, trying to pretend like she didn't want to go back and make sure that Scorpius was okay.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading.**

Chapter 25

Things were complicated as the school year came to a close. Albus remained convinced that Scorpius might have residual feelings for Rose, and Scorpius struggled to convince him otherwise, too worried that doing so would reveal his true feelings. Though he felt bad for not working harder for Rose's sake.

The three of them were fine, really, even if things were strange between them.

On the last night of school, Gryffindor was announced as having won the House Cup, a feat that wasn't a surprise to anyone who had been following along with the state of the hourglasses, though Slytherin had been close enough to be a true competitor. Amazingly, it felt like a friendly competition towards the end, even if it held an edge of its old malice.

James set the tone when he began teasing Albus about losing in the middle of the corridors. Albus hated it, but he had to admit that it seemed to have affected the other Gryffindors and, in turn, Slytherins and made them move towards jokes rather than true insults.

The feast was a bittersweet one for the Slytherins, a quiet enveloping the table in juxtaposition to the cheer at the Gryffindor one. Scorpius and Albus didn't feel as much personal loss as many of their housemates did and continued chatting away as they would have at any other dinner.

Neither one of them expected Rose to appear, and they certainly didn't expect her to excitedly say, "Come with me," and then hurry away again.

It was the tail end of dinner, with both boys having finished their desserts, so they did as she asked and followed.

"Where are we going?" Albus asked once they'd made it into the entrance hall. Many other students were also finishing up dinner, and they surrounded them on all sides as they began making their way up the Grand Staircase.

"To the Gryffindor common room," Rose replied. With the way she spoke, you would have thought that Albus and Scorpius frequented the place. They didn't.

"The Gryffindor common room?" Scorpius repeated, a hint of fear in his voice. "We're going in there? Do you want Albus and me to die?"

Rose scoffed, not bothering to turn around and look at them as she continued hurrying up the stairs. She was eager to reach their destination, and the boys had to jog to keep up with her. Once they had reached the Fat Lady, Rose was nearly bursting with excitement as she provided the password. Albus and Scorpius looked at each other with hesitation as they stepped into the common room after her.

Their first impressions were similar: They noticed the red before anything else, as it was very different from the green of the Slytherin dungeons. The furniture looked to be designed primarily for comfort, whereas the decor of Slytherin was meant primarily to give an impression.

Their second impressions had to do with the people filling the common room, who were all as jubilant as Rose. Many of them closest to the portrait hole quieted as the Slytherins entered, but none of them said a word as they watched Rose lead them farther into the room. Scorpius kept his head down, focusing on following Albus instead of investigating his surroundings.

Albus kept his eyes directly ahead, not letting them stay on anyone for too long. It was his last night at Hogwarts before the summer, and he had no wish to end it with a fight, but the looks they were receiving didn't bother Rose in the slightest. She walked with a bounce in her step.

They were halfway across the room before Albus realized that Rose was heading for James, Fred, and Roxanne. They were gathered around a table with several other Gryffindors in their year.

James and Albus's cousins watched them approach, amused grins on their faces.

"You got him to come?" Fred asked as if Albus wasn't right in front of him.

Taking a seat at the table, Rose bragged, "It was easy."

Albus hesitated for a second before sitting down too. Scorpius took the chair at the end of the table, next to Albus, and scooted as close to Albus as he could manage without it being weird. If Albus was nervous about being there, Scorpius felt like he might hyperventilate. He longed to look around and see who was glaring, but his fear kept him staring at the table instead.

"I don't think we should be here," Albus told James quietly.

James shook his head, looking amused and not the least bit worried for his brother's safety.

"Nah, I threatened them already," James said casually, causing Scorpius' fears to skyrocket.

Albus rolled his eyes, feeling annoyed though he wasn't sure why, exactly, he cared.

"You'll both be fine," Rose said. Albus got the distinct impression that she had accomplished something she had hoped for since before Christmas break.

Albus stayed because he didn't want to appear to be an arrogant Slytherin by getting up and leaving. He made sure to stay close by Scorpius' side, and the two of them confined themselves to the table that one of Albus' cousins always seemed to be at. He had the distinct impression that they were babysitting him.

The party was an awkward affair, but the Slytherins made it through without any scars, which was more than either had expected upon entering. Albus couldn't shake the feeling that something had shifted. Something very small, yes, but something nonetheless. He had felt it that night, and he didn't know what to make of it.

 **A/N: There's only one more chapter left, and it will be up before the end of the weekend (in my time zone). After that, there will be a sequel, but I'll say more about that when I post the last chapter.**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading.**

Chapter 26

The train ride back to London was different from the previous three of the school year. As they flew through the countryside, there was undoubtedly a strained nature to their conversations that was due to the current secrets and misinformation between them, but that was already getting better, with the three friends able to laugh in a way they'd been struggling with for the last couple of weeks.

As they neared King's Cross Station, they began to gather their things in preparation of seeing their families once more.

"Next year we have to find the Room of Requirement," Rose said. She was still caught up on the idea despite the fact that they hadn't used the Map to search for it in months. Only recently had she felt that it was again safe to broach the topic with Albus.

He rolled his eyes at Scorpius while Rose's back was turned, earning a giggle from the blonde boy. Albus smiled in return, always feeling pleased with himself when he managed such a response.

The three kids ambled off the train, finding themselves on a far too crowded platform. Their families weren't visible until they'd pushed themselves through half the crowd and stumbled upon quite the shock. The Weasleys and Potters stood together, but not far from their side were Draco and Astoria Malfoy.

Astoria smiled when she saw Scorpius, reaching out to give him a hug without noticing her son's shock. Draco shifted uncomfortably on his feet as his son watched him with an analytical eye. Albus gave his own parents a questioning look, but Harry only shrugged, something in his eyes making the promise that they would discuss what had happened later.

"Did you have a nice end of term?" Astoria asked Scorpius, pulling away from their hug in order to inspect the state of his physical health.

Despite hearing much about her from Scorpius, this was the first time Albus had heard Astoria Malfoy speak, and he was reminded of his grandmother, who often performed the same inspection each time she'd been apart from a family member for more than a week.

Scorpius nodded, but he had lost the ability to answer verbally when there were so many people he didn't know gathered around. Albus spoke up, saying to Astoria, "Scorpius got O's on all of his exams, ma'am. There's no way he didn't."

Astoria turned to look at him with a fond smile, and Albus was struck by how motherly it was.

"Is that right?" She turned to look at Scorpius again, a knowing smile on her face. "That's great to hear." She pulled him in for another hug, causing Scorpius to look more embarrassed than he already was.

"We'd better get going," Draco said, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder from behind. Astoria looked back at him, smile not fading though Draco had yet to smile since the children appeared. Astoria nodded.

"Ready to go?" she asked Scorpius, who nodded at his mother.

Turning to Albus, Scorpius offered a small smile.

"Bye," he said quietly.

Albus smiled back and said his own goodbye. He watched the family as they disappeared from the platform. Draco didn't turn to look back at them, but Scorpius did, his father's hand on his shoulder as he steered him away.

Albus turned back to his own family. Rose was deep in conversation with her parents. James was nowhere to be found. Uncle George and Aunt Angelina stood on the other side of Albus' parents, speculating about how long it would take for the twins to appear. Uncle George's theory was that they were playing one final prank on the students who were left on the train.

Albus opened his mouth to say something when a hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped before realizing that it was James from the loud voice in his ear.

"He's not trying to brag about Slytherin winning the Quidditch Cup is he? Just remember who won the House Cup."

James slapped him on the shoulder harder than was necessary, but Albus gave him an amused smirk anyway. Lily giggled, asking for more details about both Cups.

James was happy to oblige, although Albus made sure to get a word or two in every so often, knocking the Gryffindor down a peg or two when he got too cocky.

It was the happiest that Albus could remember being while with his family for a long time, and he wasn't sure what had spurred it on. Harry and Ginny began ushering them out into Muggle London to find their car, which would take them to Grimmauld Place. The three siblings followed behind them, Lily in between James and Albus as they continued their light-hearted argument.

Slytherin had deserved that Quidditch Cup, no matter what James said, and Albus wasn't going to let the argument end on any other note.

 **A/N: Like I said in the author's note on the last chapter, there will be a sequel to this story. However, I'm sorry to say that it's probably going to take a lot longer before I can post that one than I had planned.**

 **Right now I'm a little less than halfway through with the rough draft of it, but I have just recently gotten a new job. The job also means a huge move (the farthest I've moved in my life), and there is quite a bit going on right now because of it. Even once I've moved, I'm assuming that it will take a little while to get settled in both at home and at work (I also won't have wifi at home at first), so I just can't tell you when the sequel will be posted. It will be though. Like I said, I have a good deal of one draft already written. It'll just take some time.**


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